PCWorld: Russian Programmer Remains Behind Bars

By way of followup, here's an article explaining in some detail the outstanding issues in Dmitriy Sklyarov's case and why there may be politics at work with regard to how the US Attorney is choosing to handle the case:

"But just because he is still in custody and charged does not mean that Sklyarov will necessarily be prosecuted. The EFF is planning to meet with representatives from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Friday, according to Will Doherty, online activist for the EFF.

Doherty expects that such a meeting will lead to Sklyarov's release because "any reasonable person, looking at the facts of this case, would drop the prosecution immediately." The weaknesses in the case are only underscored by Adobe's decision to side with the EFF, he says, noting that "to go ahead and prosecute a crime when the victim no longer wants to prosecute is illogical."

"The only reason to prosecute at this point is a vendetta of some kind or political aspirations to appear hard on cybercrime," he says.

Politics enters into the equation because Robert Mueller, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, is President George W. Bush's nominee for FBI Director and will be facing confirmation hearings next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee."

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• Adobe, Electronic Frontier Foundation Call for Release of Russian Programmer(Jul 24, 2001)
• LinuxPlanet: comment: The Digital Millennium Rape Act(Jul 23, 2001)
• Linux Journal: Free Dmitry Sklyarov!(Jul 22, 2001)
• Adobe to meet with the EFF regarding Sklyarov; protest on hold(Jul 20, 2001)
• LWN: Alan Cox Resigns from ALS Committee, "Maddog" Hall Disagrees(Jul 20, 2001)
• Wired.com: Hacker Arrest Stirs Protest(Jul 19, 2001)