It's torture, there's no doubt about it. Especially when it goes on for more than a few days, then the psychological damage can become becomes permanent. In this case he was in there three months.

Many prisoners tortured this way become so psychologically fractured they can no longer defend themselves in court, such as the case of Jose Padilla, kept in solitary for years, and who went completely insane as a result.

Burning someone with hot irons leaves marks on the outside, but you can get over it. The damage done from solitary confinement doesn't go away.

Another article on the practice - http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/03/2011371259...

Interestingly, at the time that was written a year and a half ago they stated "In Europe, solitary confinement has largely been abandoned, and it is widely viewed as a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights conventions".

And yet here is Sweden implementing this practice, recognized in Europe as torture, for someone accused of copyright infringement. Certainly not a violent crime.