Lightning destroys evidence in Swedish file sharing case

Divine verdict on P2P?

Swedish authorities have dropped the charges they brought against the Karlskrona (Sweden) municipality head of culture, who last year openly admitted to file sharing and encouraged others to follow.

The decision suggests a divine judgement on the thorny issue of file-sharing - his computer was struck by lightning and cannot be examined.

Or at least that is what Ivar Wenster told the police.

"They laughed when I told them," he told Swedish site The Local. According to Wenster his computer completely burnt out this summer. "It was my children's and wife's pc too."

Last year Wenster openly admitted in an article in Blekinge Läns Tidning that he downloads music from the internet without paying for it shortly after the raids on The Pirate Bay, one of the world's largest sources of unauthorised copies of films and music.

"There's a fundamental hypocrisy around these issues," he argued. He also encouraged others with established positions in society to reveal that they're file sharing, in order to make the industry “rethink its position”.

When downloads became illegal in Sweden in July 2005, Wenster immediately reported himself to the police, hoping it would lead to discussion. He risked two years in jail under the new Swedish copyright laws.

Despite the tradegy with his PC, Wenster is determined to keep file sharing on the agenda.®