Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have tried to get their beliefs recognized as an official religion in Sweden. After their request was denied several times, the Church of Kopimism - which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols - is now approved by the authorities as an official religion. The Church hopes that its official status will remove the legal stigma that surrounds file-sharing. 
 
 All around the world file-sharers are being chased by anti-piracy outfits and the authorities, and the situation in Sweden is no different. While copyright holders are often quick to label file-sharers as pirates, there is a large group of people who actually consider copying to be a sacred act. 
 
 Philosophy student Isak Gerson is such a religious file-sharer, and in an attempt to protect his unique belief system he founded The Missionary Church of Kopimism in 2010. In the hope that they could help prevent persecution for their beliefs, the Church then filed a request to be officially accepted by the authorities. 
 
 After two failed attempts, where the Church was asked to formalize its way of praying or meditation, the authorities finally recognized the organization as an official religion. The Church’s founder is ecstatic about this news, and hopes that it will motivate more people to come forward as ‘Kopimists’. 
 
 “I think that more people will have the courage to step out as Kopimists. Maybe not in the public, but at least to their close ones,” Isak tells TorrentFreak. “There’s still a legal stigma around copying for many. A lot of people still worry about going to jail when copying and remixing. I hope in the name of Kopimi that this will change.” 
 
 Although the formal status of the Church doesn’t mean that copyright infringement is now permitted, the Church’s founder hopes that their beliefs will be considered in future lawmaking. 
 
 During the last half year the Missionary Church of Kopimism tripled its members from 1,000 to 3,000 and it’s expected that the recent news will cause another surge in followers. Official member or not, Gerson encourages everyone with an Internet connection to keep on sharing. 
 
 “We confessional Kopimists have not only depended on each other in this struggle, but on everyone who is copying information. To everyone with an internet connection: Keep copying. Maintain hardline Kopimi,” Gerson concludes. 
 
 Prospective followers who embrace the same calling are of course welcome to join the movement, free of charge. ||||| A group of 3,000 Swedish file sharers have succeeded in getting their organisation, called the Church of Kopimism, recognised as a religion by the Swedish authorities. 
 
 The movement has been trying to gain official recognition for their beliefs in sharing and data copying since 2010. The church's name comes from "Kopimi", pronounced "copy me". The organisation believes that communication and sharing is sacred and needs to be respected. They also think it is wrong to monitor and eavesdrop on people. The church has applied for official status a number of times and had its request denied, most recently in July 2011. 
 
 However, just before Christmas Kopimism was approved as an official religion (as opposed to a sect), although founder Isak Gerson and chairman Gustav Nipe only opened the letter containing the news yesterday. Before being approved by the National Judicial Board for Public Lands & Funds, the church was required to formalise its way of praying or meditation. 
 
 Founder and philosophy student Isak Gerson told Wired.co.uk: "Our main ritual is the act of copying and connecting with each other by sharing information." 
 
 He added: "Just being recognised by the state of Sweden will help strengthen our identity." 
 
 The new religious status doesn't make file sharing legal for Kopimists -- although there are a few exemptions from some laws for religions in Sweden -- but Gerson hopes that their beliefs may be considered in future legislation. The next step for the organisation is, according to Gerson, to "develop our religious practice". 
 
 For more information about Kopimism, check out the church's website. ||||| Media wait in front of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is staying, Friday, Feb. 5, 2016. A U.N. human rights panel says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who... (Associated Press) 
 
 LONDON (AP) — A United Nations human rights panel has sided with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in his long-running battle with Swedish and British authorities, saying he should be freed immediately and compensated for the years he has lost. 
 
 The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which falls under the offices of the U.N. human rights chief, said Assange has been "arbitrarily detained" by Britain and Sweden since December 2010, when he was first sought for questioning on allegations of sexual misconduct. 
 
 The panel's recommendation was immediately rejected by Swedish and British officials who said Assange's legal situation is unchanged. He remains in the Embassy of Ecuador in London, where he sought refuge more than three years ago. 
 
 Speaking by video link from the embassy, Assange told a news conference the finding that he has been unlawfully detained is a significant victory that completely vindicates him. He said it brought a smile to his face. 
 
 His lawyers said Assange must be freed immediately and given protection from possible extradition to the United States. 
 
 Lawyer Melinda Taylor said the finding shows that Assange has been subjected to mental torture throughout his long ordeal and now faces round-the-clock overt and covert surveillance while seeking safety at the embassy. 
 
 Prominent Spanish jurist Baltasar Garzon said it is "imperative" that Sweden and Britain respect the panel's. 
 
 British and Swedish officials maintain the panel's finding has no legal force, but it represents a public relations victory for Assange, who argues that the allegations against him are part of a plot to send him to the United States to face more possible charges related to WikiLeaks' release of classified documents. 
 
 The panel's decision was not unanimous: Vladimir Tochilovsky, a Ukrainian member, disagreed with the other three voting members. He did not believe the group had a mandate to investigate the case because he did not believe Assange had been detained. The fifth member of the panel recused herself because she is Australian, as is Assange. 
 
 It is not clear if U.S. judicial officials are seeking Assange's arrest on U.S. charges. No charges have been filed against Assange in Sweden, but Swedish prosecutors want to question him over allegations of rape stemming from a working visit he made to the country in 2010 when WikiLeaks was attracting international attention for its secret-spilling. 
 
 Assange has consistently denied the allegations but declined to return to Sweden to meet with prosecutors and eventually sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has lived since June 2012. 
 
 The panel criticized Sweden's approach, noting that Assange was never formally charged in Sweden — only placed under preliminary investigation. 
 
 "The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considers that the various forms of deprivation of liberty to which Julian Assange has been subjected constitute a form of arbitrary detention," said panel chairman Seong-Phil Hong in a statement. 
 
 Citing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that has 168 state parties including both Sweden and Britain, the panel said "the adequate remedy would be to ensure the right of free movement of Mr. Assange and accord him an enforceable right to compensation." 
 
 British officials argue that Assange is free to leave the Ecuadorean Embassy at any time — although he would face arrest from British police because of a European Arrest Warrant issued at Sweden's behest. He is also sought by Britain for jumping bail. 
 
 The panel's decision, which was given privately to the governments before it was released to the public, seems to have stunned officials in Sweden and Britain who maintain proper procedures have been followed at all times. 
 
 Karin Rosander, spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecution Authority, said that under Swedish law the panel's conclusion will have no "formal impact." 
 
 British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond called the panel's finding "frankly ridiculous". 
 
 The panel criticized a "disproportionate" reaction by Swedish prosecutors in issuing a European arrest warrant rather than seeking to question Assange using bilateral agreements with Britain, and insisted that the Swedish prosecutor refused to consider other ways of interviewing him compatible with his right to asylum — which it said was not properly respected. 
 
 Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement it would formally contest the panel's opinion. 
 
 "This changes nothing. We completely reject any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "Julian Assange has never been arbitrarily detained by the U.K. The opinion of the U.N. Working Group ignores the facts and the well-recognized protections of the British legal system." 
 
 It countered that Assange was "voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorean embassy." 
 
 The case has also been complicated by uncertainty surrounding Assange's legal status in the United States. The U.S. government has not revealed whether he has been indicted — grand jury proceedings are secret there — but has indicated that sensitive investigations into Assange and WikiLeaks have been made. 
 
 The working group said Assange could face "refoulement" to the United States — being handed over to a country where he could face violence or prison. The U.N. upholds the principle of non-refoulement prohibiting that practice. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Keaten reported from Geneva. Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark and Jill Lawless in London contributed.
– Sweden may not condone file-sharing—it's still illegal—but the country is officially OK with belief in the practice. Some 3,000 passionate file-sharers have gotten their beliefs recognized as an official religion. The Missionary Church of Kopimism—as in, "copy-me-ism"—has sought official status in Sweden since 2010, and it's finally won the battle, TorrentFreak reports. The decision follows a pair of rejections; authorities wanted Kopimism to define its prayer practices. "Our main ritual is the act of copying and connecting with each other by sharing information," the church's founder tells Wired. Now, Isak Gerson says, "more people will have the courage to step out as Kopimists. Maybe not in the public, but at least to their close ones." He hopes that the recognition will have an effect on future legislation surrounding file-sharing. Meanwhile, he has some advice for fellow believers: "Keep copying. Maintain hardline Kopimi."