The court proceedings on Sergei Kurt-Adjiev’s case have reached a deadlock. The documents that can prove the legality of use of the software by the Samara’s office of Novaya Gazeta have disappeared somewhere in the depths of the Investigative Committee. 

The criminal case was started against the editor of Samara’s branch of Novaya Gazeta in May 2007. He was charged with use of pirate software in the paper’s working. Oddly, the application to the prosecutor’s office was sent by a representative of 1C Company that produces and sells the software, although Novaya Gazeta in Samara had signed contracts with this company and possesses setup disks. The witnesses also have confirmed the legitimate origin of the software in question.  

Then the investigator Vadim Maslov took away a big number of documents, including contracts and bills from the firms servicing the office equipment. It has turned out recently in the process of legal proceedings that he did not file the brought away materials. It seems that the taken away papers were not of much help in trying to prove the criminal intentions by Kurt-Adjiev.     

The court could have seen to that question, but it has been a week that our Samara editorial board cannot get the documents back from the investigative committee, despite the court’s decision about discovery of documents taken last Monday and despite the statement by Vadim Maslov that he can return the documents at any time.  

Later, however, Mr. Maslov changed his mind and said he would not return anything until he got an order from above. Sergei Kurt-Adjiev had to send an application to the name of acting prosecutor of Oktyabrsky district of Samara with a request for returning of documentation. With no response having been received so far, the next court’s session is to be held on 10 July.