TVShack student extradition deal
November 28, 2012
Richard O’Dwyer, the UK student behind TVShack, which linked TV shows and films online for free, has reached an agreement to avoid extradition to the US over copyright infringement.
The 24-year-old Sheffield student is to sign a “deferred prosecution” agreement in the past and will travel to the US where it be ratified. He will also pay a small sum of compensation but will not face a trial.
Sir John Thomas, president of the Queen’s Bench Division and the third most senior judge in England and Wales, said the deal was a “very satisfactory outcome” to the long-running and highly controversial case.
More than 250,000 people signed a petition started in June by the Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, calling on the home secretary to block O’Dwyer’s extradition to the US on charges that could have carried a sentence of up to 10 years in jail.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, which pursued the case against him, claims his website earned more than $230,000 in advertising revenue before US authorities shut it down in 2010.