People's Democratic Union link the raid with an upcoming session which is expected to endorse Mikhail Kasyanov’s presidential bid.
Photo: Dmitry Lekay
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Police Search Kasyanov’s Office in Tula for Pirated Software
Police seized a PC and allegedly pirated software from an office of the People’s Democratic Union in Tula on Monday in the first occasion when a political organization is suspected of using illegal computer programs. Activists of Mikhail Kasyanov’s movement say that the operation was just a tool of pressure ahead of the organization’s session which is expected to nominate Mr. Kasyanov for presidency in the 2008 election.
Police raided the office of the People’s Democratic Partly in Tula, 160 km south of Moscow, Monday night, seizing one computer and hard disk from another PC. The building was blocked during the search, the activists report.
Police officials in Tula confirmed the reports, saying that the PC and software had been seized to be checked for their legality.
Alexander Letnikov, head of the Tula office, says that the search took five hours, after which police officers wrote down names of everyone present in the office. Mr. Letnikov insists that the seized software was legal. The opposition movement’s Tula leader is convinced that the search has nothing to do with crackdown on computer piracy.
The People’s Democratic Union has become the first political organization to be suspected of using pirated computer software. The People’s Democratic Union notes that Tula police came with a warrant to check the organization’s financial and economic activities but somehow showed no interest in anything but computers. The party’s leaders link the raid with the movement's upcoming session which is expected to endorse Mikhail Kasyanov’s presidential bid.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 30, 2007
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