IsoHunt launches unofficial KAT mirror

A member from the torrent site isoHunt has unofficially resurrected KickassTorrents (also known as Kickass Torrents or just KAT) at kickasstorrents.website. It might look like the original KAT site, which went down yesterday after alleged founder Artem Vaulin was arrested, but upon closer inspection it’s simply a basic mirror.

Update: KickassTorrents mirrors go down, but new KAT sites quickly spring up

The isoHunt team tells me the KAT mirror is hosting files from the last year to year-and-a-half. So no, not everything is available. Furthermore, there is no forum, no community, and no support. And you shouldn’t get too attached, the administrators warn.

“It’s not perfect but if users need to save and archive something it’s time,” the team told VentureBeat. “We don’t know how long it can last, but at least it’s something.”

Unlike when the isoHunt team resurrected The Pirate Bay, this KAT mirror isn’t very robust. While the site is certainly functional, we’re not expecting new content. Update: The isoHunt team has clarified that only one of their members created the mirror, which would explain its limitations.

The isoHunt team is part of a bigger group that supports Vaulin and has posted the following manifesto, which shows up when you first visit the KAT mirror:

This morning the founder of kat.cr was arrested in Poland. It is another attack on freedom of rights of internet users globally. We think it’s our duty not to stand aside but to fight back supporting our rights. In the world of regular terrorist attacks where global corporations are flooded with money while millions are dying of diseases and hunger, do you really think that torrents deserve so much attention? Do you really think this fight worth the money and resources spent on it? Do you really think it’s the real issue to care of right now? We don’t!

Kat.cr is a website we all know and love, and the world will never be the same without it. That’s why before it will come back we’ve made the mirror of Kat.cr with all the torrents we could find. It’s not perfect but if you want to save and archive something, now it’s the time! We don’t know how long it can last, but at least it’s something. We will continue to fight for our freedom and you’re welcome to join us! Sign this petition on Change.org and let everybody know that there are many of us who refuse to be silent.

Our freedom is to share the human right which Artem Vaulin has been providing to millions of users from all over the world. By arresting him our rights are violated.

To rally support around the cause of freeing Vaulin, the group has launched petitions on the Change.org and The White House websites. It’s highly unlikely the petitions will be able to achieve anything, but the U.S. government does have a rule that states petitions with over 100,000 signatures in 30 days must receive an official response.

While that will be some sort of achievement, Vaulin isn’t going anywhere. The bigger achievement has already been made: launching a KAT mirror in less than 24 hours.

It’s not the first such site, and it certainly won’t be the last.