Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 11:54:26 -0500
From: "Chris Moseng"
To: free@freesklyarov.org
Subject: LETTERS

Dear Senator,

I’m writing for two reasons: to protest the FBI’s arrest of Russian
citizen Dmitry Sklyarov and to insist that congress repeal the DMCA.

Reports of the arrest and the FBI’s complaint against the Russian
programmer are frustrating. The FBI arrested the PhD candidate and
father at the request of an American corporation as he visited our
country to give a presentation on computer security. His presentation
focused on the cryptographic weakness of this corporation’s products,
contrary to their fraudulent claims of cryptographic strength. The
complaint indicates that he was arrested because his employer
distributes software in violation of the DMCA, and that software
identifies him as the copyright holder. But he is a Russian citizen, and
his employer is a Russian corporation, and his alleged infringing
activities took place in Russia!

In America, we do not arrest employees and try them as criminals for the
actions of their employers. In America, we do not blindly accept the
investigative work of corporations as a starting point for official
investigations which result in criminal prosecutions. In America, we
value the marketplace of ideas and its ability to strengthen our
worthwhile discoveries while exposing fraud.

Please use your position in Washington to ensure that the values of
intellectual freedom and common sense prevail over the selfish, punitive
interests of the copyright industry and the FBI. Free Dmitry Sklyarov
and repeal the DMCA.

Your Constituent,
--
mosengc@qwest.net
I use PGP 6.5.3 -- http://www.underwhelm.org/pgp

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