Dmitry Sklyarov: no plea

[Marcel Popescu]

http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/983

On Wednesday night, I spoke with Dmitry Skylarov at a small event to
celebrate his homegoing, hosted by the EFF.

Dmitry told me that he was upset with the U.S. Attorney's misrepresentation
of his agreement with them. Specifically, Dmitry says that:

He still works for Elcomsoft and has no intention of leaving anytime soon.
(The announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office described Elcomsoft as
Dmitry's "former employer.")

There was no plea bargain made between Dmitry and the U.S. Attorney's Office
(As the same announcement would lead you to believe: "...(Sklyarov) admitted
his conduct in a hearing before U.S. District Judge Whyte in San Jose
Federal Court. Under the agreement, Mr. Sklyarov agreed to cooperate with
the United States in its ongoing prosecution of Mr. Sklyarov's former
employer...")

Dmitry's story has not changed: he still maintains that both he and his
employer are not guilty of any misconduct.

Joe Burton's Statement 12_19_01

I want to state, for the record, that we, the defense, feel that there has
been an injustice done to Dmitry Sklyarov and ElcomSoft. The U. S.
Attorney's December 13th Press Release is a cleverly crafted statement that
promotes the notion that Dmitry admits wrongful conduct and has entered into
a Plea Agreement with the U.S. Government. I categorically reject the notion
that there is any admission of wrongful conduct on the part of Dmitry
Sklyarov, he has simply agreed to tell his story, which I might add is the
identical story he has consistently told since day one of his arrest. In
addition there is, quite simply, NO Plea Agreement. He has agreed to testify
for the U. S. Government, if called and he will testify for ElcomSoft, if
called.

I also want to set the record straight on the issue of Dmitry's employment
with ElcomSoft. Dmitry has been employed since April 2000 and he remains
employed by ElcomSoft and will continue his employment with ElcomSoft.

It is not unexpected that the U.S. Attorneys would look for a way to "save
face" in this case, however to do so, at the expense of Dmitry is completely
unacceptable to me.

Dmitry Sklyarov's Statement 12/19/01

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to each person who has
supported and contributed to me during my detention, these past 5 months.
Naturally, I am very happy about returning to Russia and at the prospect of
getting back to my family and friends. I am excited about spending the
holidays in my homeland.

There are two points I wish to address, today. The first point is this: I am
extremely disappointed with any implication that I am, in any way,
cooperating with the government. My perspective is simply this: I am a man
of integrity and as such am doing nothing more that telling the truth... I
am not for or against anyone.
Secondly, there seems to have been some confusion as to my employment status
with ElcomSoft. I would like to clear up this confusion. I have been
employed by ElcomSoft since April 2000 and will continue to be employed in
the future. As a matter of fact, I have remained ElcomSoft's long distance
"virtual" employee throughout these past 5 months while detained, here in
the United States.

ElcomSoft Founder/CEO Alex Katalov's Statement 12/19/01

First, let me say that the Diversion Agreement, reached between Dmitry
Sklyarov and the US Attorney's office last Thursday (December 13, 2001) was
reached with ElcomSoft's complete knowledge, cooperation and our unfailing
support for our employee, Dmitry Sklyarov.
Neither ElcomSoft nor our legal team sees this agreement in any way
counterproductive to our ongoing case, nor do we feel that Dmitry's
testimony will be anything but supportive to our case. All that Dmitry has
to do is to tell the truth; we, of course, welcome that; the truth will
never change regardless of who calls Dmitry as a witness: the prosecution or
the defense, or both.

>From the company's standpoint, Dmitry's agreement serves ElcomSoft well. It
provides us with the freedom and flexibility to pursue our best legal
strategy without worrying about the possibility that Dmitry could face jail.