Richard ODwyer extradition petition

26/06/2012

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TV Shack seized
In January 2012 we reported on the US attempt to extradite UK citizen Richard O'Dwyer to the USA. Richard was one of many British citizens wanted by the US authorities yet in most people's eyes he and others were not criminals. Any justice that they needed to face should have been possible in the UK. The extradition of UK citizens such as Richard and pensioner Christopher Tappin end up looking purely vindictive.

Richards's alleged "crime" was creating and operating a website. TV Shack offered links to sites where users could download movies and the like. He did not force visitors to the site, to follow the link nor recommend that they do so. He offered a go between service.

At the time of his arrest his actions were not illegal in the UK. That loophole has since been closed. However that is another reason his extradition to face US justice is nonsense. In our earlier report we wrote, "" under the so-called dual criminality rule, since he has not been charged for an offence in the UK, the US has no right to extradite him". The UK should respect this rule instead of simply handing Richard to the US,over like a lamb to the slaughter."  Six months later that still stands.

Yesterday it was made public that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales had begun an online petition in the hope that Richard's extradition will be stopped. It is coped here with the necessary link which we hope you will follow and sign:

Stop the extradition of Richard O'Dwyer to the USA

Hi,

I am writing to you to stop the extradition of British citizen, Richard O'Dwyer to the USA.

I’m concerned about this case because O'Dwyer is not a US citizen, his site (TVShack.net) was not hosted there, and most of his users were not from the US. I don’t understand why America is trying to prosecute a UK citizen for an alleged crime which took place on UK soil. If there was a crime it should be investigated and tried here in the UK, not in the US.

When operating his site, Richard O'Dwyer was careful to always try and play by the rules: on the few occasions he received takedown notices, he complied. His site hosted links, like a search-engine does, not copyrighted content, and these were submitted by users. Both of these are protected in the USA.

Copyright is an important institution, serving a beneficial moral and economic purpose. But that does not mean that copyright can or should be unlimited. It does not mean that we should abandon time honored moral and legal principles to allow endless encroachments on our civil liberties in the interests of the moguls of Hollywood.

I’m aware that both parties in the coalition government criticised the unfair extradition treaty when in opposition, and more recently David Cameron and Theresa May have spoken of the need to review it.

But for Richard there’s no time for a lengthy review. The USA is pushing hard to extradite him now. So please, for Richard and his family stop this extradition.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

You can sign the petition here.

In the time it took to put this report together the petition increased from 40,000 signatures to 50,000. Good luck to Richard.

Tags: Extradition treaty with US, Richard O'Dwyer extradition, extradition from UK to US, Jimmy Wales petition, Wikipedia founder,TV shack creator, Stop Richard O'Dwyer extradition

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Tweets cause US deportation to UK

07/02/2012

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Having just written obout the Abu Qatada deportation fiasco in the UK this story tells a different tale. One to the other extreme. It offers a warning I guess to those who may be looking to visit the US. Be careful what you tweet before you embark on your journey.

Watching that Sunday Night show, last night Monday February 6, yes I know but do not go there, a young couple were on the show to tell their story.

Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting were looking forward to their US vacation. Excited Leigh tweeted on Twitter. Unfortunately he tweeted jokes which were taken rather seriously by US authorities. The pair were met by burly US security personnel, held for 12 hours, and then deported back to the UK. So what had the pair tweeted?

Leigh had previously tweeted about his forthcoming trip to LA, "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?"  He had also tweeted that he was going to “dig Marilyn Monroe up” which apparently is an in quote from a show.

Emily? Well Emily was asked if she was there to be his lookout whilst he dug up Marilyn. She said that she nearly burst out laughing. Well you would, wouldn't you?

The couple were held in separate cells. Their luggage was searched for spades and tools that would have been needed to dig up Ms Monroe's corpse. They were back home in the UK, gobsmacked, as quick as a flash.

Opinion: This case raises many issues and plenty of laughs. Yes the couple were probably foolish but it just shows that we should all be careful what we share with the world. We all tweet our opinions and views, often not considering who may be reading them. Obviously homeland security in America at least are tuning in. That is worrying, isn't it?

We also often forget that what is plainly seen as a joke, when we are face to face, may not be when it is seen as hard text.

Perhaps the best lesson is to think very carefully about visiting the US. They want you to be a tourist and spend money but this couple, for example, have been left seriously out of pocket. Whilst this blogger is a law abiding citizen it does make her wonder if any of her tweets may have been logged and stored for future use. That said why risk it? Choose to take your vacation elsewhere.That seems the only sensible solution.
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