40 
A couple of men from Leeds are the latest victims of the UK’s ongoing crackdown on copyright infringement, with the pair given nine-month sentences for running illegal TV and movie streaming sites.
Brothers Faraz Saddiq and Ayaz Saddiq were prosecuted under the Proceeds of Crime Act for running legalmovies.tv and filmzzz.com, both of which appeared to be legitimate sites, but actually pointed to places where copyrighted material could be streamed online for free and embedded entire films on their pages.
They won’t actually go to prison as their sentences have been suspended for two years, but they will have to undertake 150 hours of voluntary work. [The Register]
Image credit: Police in Leeds from Shutterstock
This Retinal Implant Has Given Sight to Nine Blind People
HMV Set to Suspend Shares and Appoint Administrators
Lawyerbots Given the Green Light in the US
So basically 150 hours work for whatever gains they made from the site. If they made a lot from it, seems like it was worth it.
Then again, when murder gets you 4 years, I suppose this might seem a bit harsh.
Same reason I think murderers should be on the deaths row since prison is overcrowded.
they would re open Woolworths and make the murders work there. It would practically be the same thing.
I read that a garlic/ginger smuggler who avoided £2million of taxes got 6 years yesterday.
Mind you, he did owe more than Starbucks and the rest of them combined, so I’m not surprised he didn’t get shot.
So 1/3 off for overcrowding, then another 1/3 off for good behaviour.
Basically had a job earning £1 million a year. And they say crime doesn’t pay.
Anyone caught smuggling gingers into this country should be executed; there’s enough red-haired, freckle faced freaks here already without smuggling more in
Some of them are quite fit though… I need help
Seems harsh
http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/hot-redheaded-girls-5.jpg?w=500&h=651
Ah, but does the carpet match the curtains?
Making money seems to be the issue. If they had run the site as a not for profit they would have been in less trouble.
Also you don’t seem to understand British penal systems. While a judge will give a minimum sentence that isn’t necessarily or with murderers even likely what they serve. In theory violent criminals can be imprisoned indefinitely in the UK.
They can extend it, but as a rule, if they are giving you the 1/3 off for good behaviour, then you will be let out early.
The only ones they don’t seem to let out are those that the media pick up on and that make the public angry. But that only applies to 1 in every 200 or so I would imagine.
It really depends on the crime and the prison workers and doctors. Violent criminals can get a 10 year sentence and still be in after 20.
The time given to a criminal is the minimum they must serve, they can in some cases get out early based on good behaviour and then given parole or day release. But in cases of the most violent a lot of them even if the media doesn’t pick up on it don’t get released long after the time is up.
In theory all UK prison sentences are of indeterminate length, we set minimums but there is no cap as long as the prison authorities think that the person poses a risk.
Mind you the overcrowding issue does force there hand more than it should. At the moment the only ones that actually get treated as the system was designed are the really violent and mentally ill prisoners.
Is that title accurate? It mentions Usenet but then the article refers to the sites taken down as streaming. I’m not familiar with either site, so cannot be sure what they offered.
The register article talks about both Usenet and these sites, hence their wording is fine.
They may have given the option of downloadiing it through Usenet. Just a gues
Hi,
Its me Faraz, theres a lot more to it than 150 hours unpaid work the 1st day of which for me is tomorrow!
Proceeds of Crime Act means they want the gains back!
And its nothing to do with Usenet, it was streaming videos which were hosted on youtube, dailymotion etc but the player embeded on the websites!
And I’m no bad boy!