Protest Adobe's Role in Jailing Programmer Sklyarov

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Advisory


For Immediate Release: July 19, 2001



Contact:


Will Doherty, EFF Online Activist, help-sklyarv [at] eff.org,
+1 415 436-9333 x111


Robin Gross, EFF Staff Attorney, robin [at] eff.org,
+1 415 436-9333 x112



Protest Adobe's Role in Jailing Programmer Sklyarov


Electronic Frontier Foundation Urges His Immediate Release



The Electronic Frontier Foundation and community activists
urge concerned citizens to join in a San Francisco Bay
Area protest on Monday, July 23, against software firm
Adobe's role in the jailing of programmer Dmitry Sklyarov.


The local protest is part of a multinational effort to
secure the release of Sklyarov, who was arrested for
distributing electronic book software that expands the
capabilities for reading, sharing, printing, and making
backups of electronic books.


According to a Justice Department complaint used by the
FBI in the Las Vegas arrest of Sklyarov earlier this week,
Adobe requested that the Justice Department take action
against the programmer, resulting in his arrest shortly
after giving a conference presentation on security
weaknesses of Adobe's eBook Reader software.


"Adobe, seeking to protect electronic property rights at
any cost, has apparently pushed the U.S. Department of
Justice into an ill-advised arrest of a Russian programmer
under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act," reported EFF
Executive Director Shari Steele.


Robin Gross, EFF Staff Attorney, said, "We join the
international community in expressing outrage at the
selective arrest of programmer Dmitry Sklarov for
allegedly distributing software that we believe is
perfectly legal and helpful to electronic book purchasers."


"Our hearts go out to Dmitry's wife, children, and
colleagues who are likely distraught by what appears to be
a most disgraceful arrest," added Will Doherty, EFF Online
Activist. "We protest Adobe's role in perpetrating this
grave miscarriage of justice."


The San Francisco Bay Area protest will occur at Adobe
Headquarters, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm this Monday,
July 23. Protestors will gather at the Quetzalcoatl
snake sculpture at the south end of Cesar de Chavez
Park, at the corner of South Market St. and West San
Carlos St, then march to Adobe Headquarters at
345 Park Avenue in San Jose.


Protest organizers include the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, BoycottAdobe.com, and a loose-knit group
of activists linked together through the
free-sklyarov email list.


The organizers request that attendees bring along
U.S. or Russian flags and signs. Free T-shirts from
a group called BoycottAdobe.com will be distributed to
the first fifty attendees.


Protests are also expected in Moscow, Denver, Boston, Seattle,
and other locations.


For the latest information on the Sklyarov case, media
releases, legal filings, and the protests, including
ridesharing options, see http://www.eff.org/


About EFF:


The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages
and challenges industry and government to support free
expression, privacy, and openness in the information
society. EFF is a member-supported organization and
maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world:
http://www.eff.org/


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