Will Kat.cr Return?

It looks like KickassTorrents (Kat.cr) is down, possibly for good. Users began reporting problems with KickassTorrents on Wednesday, although the site itself was still reporting that everything was running fine. But now nothing is working, including the site’s own status page. Recent news that KickassTorrents’ alleged owner was arrested and seven domains were seized by the U.S. government likely means that the site will be down for good soon.
Here’s what you need to know.

1. The KickassTorrents’ Status Webpage Is Now Unreachable

Users have been reporting problems with KickassTorrents. On the KickassTorrents Fan Club on Facebook, users have reported problems including:
Others responded with comments that page was sending them an error message that just read “is not available right now.”
Meanwhile, KickassTorrents’ status site first reported that “all systems are up and running.” However, users were suspicious that this information wasn’t up to date:

(kastatus.com)

And they were right, because now the site shows the following:

(KickassTorrents status)

It’s not looking good for KickassTorrents.

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2. The Site Is Down Because Domains Were Seized by the U.S. Government

The problems that users are experiencing are likely the result of a lawsuit that the U.S. filed against the alleged KickassTorrents owner, along with the seizure of seven KickassTorrents domains.
According to the complaint, the seized domains are:

• kickasstorrents.com
• kastatic.com
• thekat.tv
• kat.cr
• kickass.cr
• kickass.to
• kat.ph

According to Kickass Torrents’ status website, before it was taken down, the site still had proxy sites including kickassto.co, kickass.ag, kickass.cs, katproxy.is, thekat.se, katproxy.cc, lovekat.org, and an onion site. But now, none of those sites are working either.
KAT has moved its domains before. In early June, the site was pushing back against repeated attempts to block its domains, and it added a new domain on the Tor network.

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3. The Alleged Owner, Artem Vaulin, Faces Up to 20 Years in Jail

Artem Vaulin’s LinkedIn page, without a profile photo. (LinkedIn)

Artem Vaulin, the alleged owner, faces up to 20 years in jail for copyright infringement and money laundering conspiracy. The 30-year-old from Ukraine was arrested in Poland and the United States is seeking extradition. According to the lawsuit, Vaulin owned a company called Cryptoneat which may have been used as a front for KickassTorrents. However, an in-depth look at the company’s website, Instagram page, and Facebook page (most of which have since been taken down) looked like a legitimate company with possibly up to 20 employees.
According to CryptoNeat’s LinkedIn page:

We are a software development company crafting our own products since 2008. Our latest project is wine scanner iOS application Wineeapp.com.
We support personal responsibility and involvement with no overmanagement standing in the way of imagination and creative thinking.
Flexible schedules and smart workspace — we hold to the ergonomics cult: Herman Miller chairs, standing desks, Apple hardware and multi-monitor configurations.”

Cryptoneat also has an Instagram page here, which has since been taken down.

4. Copycat Sites of KickassTorrents Are Already Cropping Up

Meanwhile, copycat sites are already cropping up. The Verge reported that KAT.am, one KickassTorrents clone, had popped up online but was sketchy. (The site had an internal server error when we visited.) The creators told The Verge that it had the complete KAT database, including comments and user information. Another one at KickassTorrents.website was a limited mirror. (The Verge reported it was an Isohunt.to site, but TorrentFreak said this information was not accurate.) Meanwhile, TorrentFreak reported many more clones appearing, including Kickass.to (which now displays a seizure notice), and sites like Kickass.la who are telling reporters that they are an “official backup.”
Is this the end of KickassTorrents? Likely so, since the domains are now under the government’s control. Copycat sites may pop up, but we’re unlikely to see KickassTorrents again.

Montie FM case: '3 get 4 months jail term each', Owners fined

The Supreme Court has handed a four-month jail term each to a radio host and his two panellists who threatened to kill judges of Ghana’s apex court.
The three, Godwin Ako Gunn and Alistair Nelson (both radio panellists), together with the host Salifu Maase, who were found guilty of contempt on July 18, are each to pay a GHC10,000 in fines in addition to the prison term.
They will serve a month each should they fail to pay the additional fine. Owners of Montie FM, the station on which the contemnors made the contemptuous statements, have also been fined GHC30,000. They have up to close of Thursday, July 28 to pay the GHC30,000 fine.

They are also to produce a document giving an undertaking that none of its media platforms will be be used to make or promote contemptuous statement or comments that has the potential to scandalise the court.
The three contemnors were whisked away in this Police van to begin their sentence Meanwhile, the court has granted bail to the owners – Harry Zakuor, Edward Addo, Ato Ahwoi and Kwesi Kyei Atuah- until they comply with the court’s judgement, while the three persons have been whisked away to begin their jail-terms.

Facts
Alistair and Gunn speaking on an Accra-based Montie FM threatened to kill the judges of the Supreme Court over their orders to Ghana’s Electoral Commission to clean the voter’s register.
Host of the show Maase, was also said to have spurred the two on to make scandalous statements against the court; comments that have widely been condemned by many Ghanaians and institutions.
The Supreme Court in June this year ordered the Electoral Commission to submit to it names of all persons who used National Health Insurance cards as proof of identity to register to vote in the 2012 general elections. The court subsequently ordered the EC to delete the over 56,000 names submitted.
This infuriated Alistair and Godwin Ako Gunn who considered the order unfavourable to their party- the National Democratic Congress- hence made unsavoury comments against the judges which the Supreme Court viewed as contemptuous. The court subsequently summoned them to explain why they should not be jailed.
The two together with the host of the show and one of the owners of the radio station, appeared before the Supreme Court July 12 but the court could not hear them because they were short served with the court processes. The case was thus adjourned to July 18 for them to appear again. The rest of the owners were ordered to appear in person on the said date.

Plea for mercy & conviction
On July 18, they showed up in court with their lawyers to plead for mercy after they had apologised to the court for their statements and actions.
Notwithstanding, the court went ahead to convict them but deferred sentencing to July 27. Alistair Nelson in his plea for mercy blamed his comments on a disease he called ‘kpokpogbligbli’ while Maase Salifu, popularly known as Mugabe, apologized for his comments, adding that his producer fell ill on the fateful day the incident happened hence there was no one to hold him in check.
The owners – Harry Zakour, Edward Addo, Kwasi Attuah and Kwaky Bram Larbi pleaded for mercy and said the act was regretful.

Credit:  Ellis D. Avi-Doe

Policeman who killed kids and committed suicide had family problems

It has emerged that the policeman with the Tema Regional Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) unit who allegedly shot dead his two young children and mother in law before turning the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide on Monday had family problems.
It is unclear what his motivation was but sources close to the horrific incident said his wife, a nursing mother, narrowly escaped with her life.
The incident occurred at about 4pm on Monday in an uncompleted house located between the Devtraco courts estates and the affordable estates near Kpone in the Tema area of Greater Accra.

The caretaker of the house where the incident occurred, Mr Akwasi Quansah has told Graphic Online’s Tema reporter, Benjamin Xornam Glover that the deceased persons were his church members who moved into the uncompleted house last Thursday. He explained that the wife of the policeman and the deceased persons were his church members who had been evicted from their home and seeking shelter so on the advice of a church elder, he took them in with the intention of securing a place for them later only to be hit by the unfortunate incident.
He said it was the first time seeing the policeman in the house.

Explaining, he claimed to have received a distress call from his relatives to rush back home at about 4:30 pm on Monday and when he arrived, he saw a crowd gathered in front of the house.

According to Mr Quansah, when he was told there had been a gun shot in the house he and his wife quickly dashed to the Devtraco courts police station where they lodged a complaint.

Two detectives were dispatched to the scene to assess the situation and convey the bodies to the mortuary.
Constable Amuzu who was expected to be on night patrol duties, had booked the rifle from the SWAT armoury but failed to proceed on duty and rather went home to wipe out his family.
The uniformed policeman wearing his helmet shot and killed instantly his mother-in-law who was bathing his baby, shot the baby and the elder child, a boy of about two years before shooting himself.
Sources at the tragic scene claimed the policeman was abusive of his wife and that on a recent late evening surprise visit by the Inspector General of Police, John Kudalor to the Tema Regional Police headquarters, he had met a woman lodging a complaint of assault at the nearby Railways and Port Police Station where Amuzu was stationed.
They alleged when the IGP inquired and was told the suspect was an officer, he allegedly directed his detention overnight until he was given bail the next day.
The sources could not however, link that incident to the murder-suicide.

Credit: the lead