> They really don't have a dog in this fight

Really?

"The Pirate Bay (commonly abbreviated TPB) is a Swedish file-sharing website founded in 2003..." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pirate_Bay

There are media companies in other parts of the world too you know. The world is a big place, it even exists outside the US.

Thanks for the enlightening observation, but I'm already quite aware that TPB is in Sweden; nonetheless, the Swedish government has gone to what would seem to be extraordinary lengths to punish an offense that has had a minimal impact on its citizens, and rather disproportionate impact on outsiders. I ask again, what are the Swedes getting out of this?

Historically, Sweden has to rely on the US for defence vs a certain Bear in their neighbourhood. Even during the Cold War, their allegedly-neutral stance was really backed by US reassurances. Maintaining good relationships with their American friends is clearly seen by the establishment as worth much more than the life of a couple of nerds and some free movies.

Please back these claims up with some sort of references. Otherwise it's just utter bs

Uhm, we do pay taxes here you know :)

As for the motives... IF the arrest of Anakata was a paid job, what other reasons than keeping good relations with the U.S. do we (or rather, the Swedish state) need?

A fair statement, but I'm not sure that nebulous 'good relations' are enough to explain the amount of time and money the Swedish government is pouring into what would seem, at least from a Swedish perspective, to be petty crime at best. I suspect there are much more specific gains being had, maybe officially through some kind of US concessions or accommodations, or unofficially. Certainly the RIAA and MPAA can open (and close) lucrative doors to Swedish media, for example.

Hollywood - who else stands the most to gain?