British student set for US extradition over pirate TV website

British student Richard O'Dwyer set to be extradited to the US Credit: ITV News

A British student is set to be extradited to the US for running a website that provided links to free films and television shows.

Richard O'Dwyer, 23, who studies computer science at Sheffield Hallam, ran the site TVShack for three years, earning £100,000 in the process.

Mr O'Dwyer's mother Julia told ITV News she blames the UK government and not the US for the decision to extradite her son.

The Sheffield student - who could now appeal to the High Court and eventually to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg - could face up to 10 years in a federal prison.

Famous UK to US extradition cases:

  • Christopher Tappin, the 65-year-old businessman, was extradited over allegations of breaching sanctions to sell missile batteries to Iran. He denies the charge.

  • Gary McKinnon, the 46-year-old Asperger's sufferer, hacked into computer systems at the Pentagon and has been fighting extradition for almost a decade.