Some good news out of Samara. As we’ve reported previously, trumped-up piracy accusations have been frequently used in Russia to intimidate independent media. Sergei Kurt-Adzhiyev, a Russian editor, has spent years fighting piracy prosecutions against himself and his publications in the region. This week, he was declared not guilty. Russia’s Finance Ministry was ordered to pay him 450,000 rubles or $15,200 for the false charge of using pirated software. RFE/RL reports:
Kurt-Adzhiev appealed the court’s decision over a period of two and a half years. Samara’s Oktyabr (October) district court ruled on February 2 that Kurt-Adzhiev was not guilty and ordered the ministry pay compensation.
Kurt-Adzhiev told journalists he was satisfied with the court’s ruling. He said the case against him in 2008 was politically motivated. He said police also visited the branch offices of “Novaya Gazeta” in Nizhny Novgorod in 2008 and confiscated computers.