Richard O’Dwyer

Tvshack.net fate Unknown


” It’s been a long road and an eventful twelve months for Richard and Julia O’Dwyer. The Sheffield Hallam student and his mother now know their journey is not over yet.
The young web designer will have to potentially up to six more months before his appeal is addressed.

The fight to keep Richard in the country has led to thousands of supporters online and his petition has been signed by over 25,000 people.
With his appeal being pushed back from it’s original date of July 30th it will mean a long summer lies in wait for the computer science student who is entering the final year of his degree.

Home Secretary Theresa May ruled in January that Richard could be extradited to the US where he could face up to five years in jail.
His mother Julia spoke to me earlier and once again reiterated the fact that this case is not over and she will not giving up fighting for justice for her son.

When Obama was questioned on the Tvshack.net  creators potential extradition he refused to address the case directly and said “i can say broadly, intellectual property should be protected”.

The case was brought against Richard by the US Immigration and Customs agency which says that TVShack.net earned more than $230,000 (£147,000) in advertising revenue before US authorities seized the domain in June  2010 and then a few months later in January 2011 produced a warrant for the seizure.

The website only held links and did not host any copyrighted content. A recent freedom of information request to the UK home Office showed that no US citizen has been extradited to the UK for any crime committed on US soil,  this recent revelation supports the voices of campaigners in the UK who have long argued that the extradition treaty is imbalanced in favour of protecting US citizens who have additional protections in the First Amendment.

TVshack, Appeal and Fight: 2012

Waiting is never easy, American poet Henry Longfellow once wrote “all things come round to him who will but wait”.

130 years after Longfellows death Richard and Julia O’Dwyer are facing up to a wait that will decide the Sheffield Hallam student’s life. An appeal is being prepared for the High Court and the O’Dwyers are not going to give up in their fight against extradition.

Julia spoke to me in the last few days regarding the Magistrates court ruling allowing for Richard to be extradited and where the case is going from here.

I could further elaborate with words but its easier to grasp the true complexities and challenges of the US Goverment Vs Richard O’Dwyer by watching the video interview below.

An End in Sight: TvShack Richard O’Dwyer

Westminster Magistrates Court

Friday has been considered  an unlucky day of the week since the Canterbury Tales in the 14th century and many Christians associate it with the day that Jesus died. For Friday the 13th to be considered a day of ill fortune one must look to the first documented version which occurred in Henry Edwards biography of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini. Edwards was aware of  the mental and physical illness endured by the composer and wrote that on his death

“Rossini was surrounded to the last by admiring and affectionate friends; Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky”

144 years on Richard O’Dwyer will await his fate at Westminster Magistrates Court in London hoping that his luck finally turns regarding the controversial website TvShack.net. The extradition case has caught the attention of media as far away as China and Russia and will hopefully come to a conclusion.

Barrister Ben Cooper has been taking the approach that the site worked on linking rather than directly hosting tv shows and movies and so Richard did not commit copyright infringement. In a case that has been compared to that of Gary Mc Kinnon it is yet to be seen what will become of the extradition order on the Sheffield Hallam Student.

His mother Julia spoke with me earlier and said that if the judge rules against her son ” she will look at what options are presented and carry on”. Julia also added that the recent parliamentary discussions and debates on extradition are bringing the issue into the main stream and hopefully this Friday will go against the grain and prove that the 13th can be a lucky day.

The Journey Continues into 2012. Richard O’Dwyer Tv Shack.Net

So it seems Richard and Julia O’Dwyer will have to wait until January 13th 2012 to see what fate awaits the creator of Tvshack.net.

Lawyer for Mr O’Dwyer, Ben Cooper is arguing that the Sheffield Student should face trial in his home country and says that he would be “vulnerable” in a New York detention centre and has not visited the US since he was five years old. O”Dwyer’s legal advisors and family also feel a ten year sentence is “disproportionate” to the copyrighting issue that O’Dwyer was linked to. His  site performed the same facility as that of google and other major search engines.

At this crucial stage in his studies in Computer Science at Sheffield Hallam an extradition or court case in the US would be a major distraction to the talented young man whose skills and abilities are coveted in an age of rapidly increasing and developing web technology.

Richards mother Julia who has already given one of a series of eye opening and determined interviews for youtube.com/JPMTVUK has clearly stated that she does not want her son to be tried in a different country when any TVShack related activity was done from Richard’s dorm room in Sheffield student accommodation.

For now the family and friends of Richard and Julia must endure a restless Christmas as the fate of the gifted young web designer lies in the balance in early 2012.

To lend the support to the campaign follow the link below.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-extradition-fair-uk-trial-for-richard-o-dwyer.html

The Fight of Their Lives, Richard O’Dwyer: Tvshack.net

Richard O'Dwyer Tv Shack.net

Twenty years ago the very thought that something termed the internet could lead to extradition and tear a mothers son away would have been laughed at. Yet in 2011 a Sheffield based student and his mother are facing and fighting a case that first began over a year ago. In a frank and eye opening interview with me, Julia O”Dwyer mother of Richard O’Dwyer the creator of Tvshack.net told me about their journey over the last twelve months.

In a year that has seen Julian Assange of wikileaks heralded as a hero  by so many and in an age when politicians have been haunted by misdemeanours on social networking sites the power and influence of the internet is truly reaching beyond any of our wildest imaginations. The Chesterfield post kindly published the interview with Julia http://www.chesterfieldpost.co.uk/news/local/localnews_00000221.html.

For those of you who are more audio visually satisfied the youtube link is on youtube.com/JPMTVUK

Gary Mc Kinnon before Richard faced a similar fate and below are links to inform and assist this student in what is truly the fight of his life.

http://juliasblog-the-fight-of-our-lives.blogspot.com/

http://www.freegary.britishintelligence.co.uk/extraditionreview/

and Twitter: @jrodwyer

For now the case goes on and the fight is not over as Julia and Richard refuse to give in. In the words of Mark Twain

“its not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dog”