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Sklyarov Released On $50,000 Bail

Posted by timothy on from the roaming-the-streets-with-innocent-muggers-and-rapists dept.

Mike Schiraldi was the first to write about Dmitry Sklyarov's release from jail, even before it happened: "According to this live report from the courtroom, Dmitri will probably be out of jail real soon now. Of course, he still won't be allowed to leave Northern California, but it's a start ..." Soon after, inaneboy pointed out this Reuters story on yahoo which says that Sklyarov has been released, on 50,000 dollars bail, raised by his employer, ElcomSoft. phalse phace wrote to say that the EFF has just posted an announcement as well as some background.

9 of 534 comments (clear)

  1. I was there, where do I send pictures? by RetsamYthgimla · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hey, I was there from about 10:45 AM to noon. Where would I send pictures I took with my digital camera? I don't have any place to host the pictures from.

    1. Re:I was there, where do I send pictures? by gorgon · · Score: 4, Informative

      Contact somebody at the SF Bay Area Free Dmitry site. They have a bunch of protest pictures up, and I'm sure they'd be glad to add more.

      --

      And I'd be a Libertarian, if they weren't all a bunch of tax-dodging professional whiners.
      Berke Breathed
  2. A couple SF Chronicle articles by LiamQ · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here are a couple new SF Chronicle articles of interest:

  3. Re:is $50000 bail low? by MAXOMENOS · · Score: 5, Informative
    The slap in the face goes beyond just a low bail. Consider this:
    • The Judge is allowing Dmitry out on bail without any intrusive monitoring device. The only thing keeping Dmitry in the US is the fact that the US is holding his passport.
    • The low bail and the very lax terms of his bail were set by an agreement between the EFF and the US Attourney's office. The judge just "rubberstamped" the deal.

    I personally wouldn't consider this a slap in the face of the FBI, but perhaps a slap in the face of the DMCA. Clearly the US Atty. intends to prosecute, but I suspect that John Ashcroft not exactly enthusiastic to prosecute Sklyarov. If we keep up the political pressure on Ashcroft, we may indeed stop this prosecution altogether.

    So, let's step up the pressure. Call John Ashcroft (the US Attourney General) at 202-353-1555 and let him know that you think Sklyarov's prosecution under DMCA is unjust.

    --
    Finding God in a Dog
  4. Re:The feds must be really ptroud... by 3-State+Bit · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...The question is not whether he broke the law, he did...

    Where have you been for the past forever? Dyema' broke no law, just as you're breaking no law by getting drunk off your ass in your own home, provided you're allowed to purchase alcohol in your area, even though there are countries where being intoxicated past a certain point is illegal. A 19 year old in France who buys a beer is breaking no law, and neither is the man or woman selling it to him. Sure, over here the legal drinking age is 21, and over here we have a DMCA also. But Dyema' didn't break the DMCA while he was over here. He did actions in russia, previous to his ever having come to the U.S., that had he done them here, would have been illegal. The speech he gave is protected in a specific exception clause in the DMCA, which allows unlimited discussion of cryptography, as long as its application is not sold to break specific copyrighted software.

    However unethical the DMCA may be, Dyema' did not break it.

    However unethical underage drinking laws may be, then my 19 year old friend Ja'nos did not break them when he was over here mixing drinks, even if he had drunk alcohol in Hungary at the age of 18 before he ever came here! (Which is the legal drinking age over there).

    Dyema did not break Russian or U.S. laws while in Russia. Dyema did not break Russian or U.S. laws while in America. Therefore, he is not a good test case to establish a precedent against the DMCA, which is an unethical law. A good precedent would be someone who actually broke it.

    Duh.
    Where have you been?
    Search Skylarov on the slashdot front page and read the +5 insightful comments on any one of the many resulting slashdot stories. We've established this thoroughly. How can you still think that Skylarov broke the DMCA?



    I assume an underage person is allowed to mix drinks, because I know someone so employed.

  5. Pictures from Rally by byoungvt · · Score: 5, Informative

    Pictures now up here

  6. Observations from the courtroom by Daffy+Duck · · Score: 5, Informative
    The room was indeed packed - standing room only. (Only they don't let people in the gallery stand except for the security guards.)

    Sklyarov was handcuffed and wearing a fetching orange T-shirt from the Santa Clara County Main Jail collection.

    The proceeding itself was mostly dull and could just as easily have been done over the phone. No controversy or disagreement. The judge seemed to just want to get the whole thing over with as routinely as possible. The only additional information he asked for was some assurance that Dmitry's immigration status would not interfere with the trial proceedings. And while the papers are reporting that the U.S. attorney is still holding Sklyarov's passport, he did make clear that it would be handed over to the court at their discretion.

    The next court appearance is scheduled for August 23, so Dmitry must be indicted within that time for the case to go forward.

    After the hearing was over, nine tenths of the people left the room, and the whole proceeding only took about twenty minutes.

  7. The REAL individuals responsible... by bani · · Score: 5, Informative

    The REAL people responsible for this whole situation are the INDIVIDUALS WHO FILED THE COMPLAINT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

    These people made a PERSONAL decision to prosecute Sklyarov, and it was their INDIVIDUAL decision to cry foul under the DMCA.

    We have their names from the criminal complaint document, why hasn't anyone in the media contacted them?

    The individuals responsible:

    Kevin Nathanson - eBooks Group Product manager, complainant to the FBI.
    Daryl Spano - Adobe "Anti-piracy" investigator, also complainant to the FBI.
    Tom Diaz - Senior Engineering Manager for eBook
    Daniel J O'Connell - FBI agent who filed the complaint.

    The media needs to put the spotlight on these I N D I V I D U A L S who are personally responsible for Sklyarov's situation.

  8. Re:The feds must be really ptroud... by MatsG · · Score: 4, Informative
    EFF's FAQ about the case tells:
    "Sklyarov is accused of "trafficking" in or providing to the public, software that can circumvent technological protection on copyrighted material under the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions (section 1201(b)(1)(A)). He's also charged with aiding and abetting. The Complaint doesn't identify the factual basis of that charge, but people have speculated that the US government would claim that Dmitry, as an employee of ElcomSoft Co. Ltd., aided and abetted the company to manufacture and distribute software that circumvents a technological protection that effectively protects a copyrighted work."
    EFF also has the complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Daniel J. O'Connell. Even though the conclusion is that agent O'Connell "based on the forgoing' believes that Sklyarov has "has willfully and for financial gain imported, ... and otherwise trafficked .. " etc, etc, very little in the affidavit substantiates this. More importantly, there is no mention of any "trafficking" taking place by Dimitri personally and DEF CON. The grievances seems to be more with Elcomsoft (Dimitri's employer) rather than with himself. As I read things, it is clear that Elcomsoft has offered its unlocking software for sale in the US, however, the prosecution will have to prove that Dimitri, after having written the software, was actively involved in this.