[free-sklyarov] Dmitry released on $50K bail

[Xeni Jardin]

Monday August 6, 2:46 pm Eastern Time
Russian hacker released on bail after U.S. arrest
SAN JOSE, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Russian software programmer Dimitry
Sklyarov, whose July 16 arrest on U.S. copyright charges provoked a
firestorm of debate over Internet free speech, was released on $50,000
bail on Monday by a California court.

Sklyarov, 26, was released into the custody of Sergei Osokine of
nearby Cupertino, Calif., after his Moscow-based company, ElcomSoft
Co., put up the $50,000 bond, court officials said.

Sklyarov appeared in court for the bail hearing, looking tired and
wearing orange prison-issued clothing. Outside the court, a small
group of protesters demonstrated, saying his arrest was a violation of
free speech rights.

Sklyarov's arrest on July 16 at a Las Vegas hackers convention made
him the first person to be prosecuted under the controversial U.S.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which bans the creation or
distribution of technology that can be used to circumvent copyright
protection.

Sklyarov wrote a program that allows people who purchase books in
digital form and use Adobe Systems Inc.'s eBook Reader to make and
transfer copies of the book -- legal under Russian law, but a
violation of the DMCA.