Prosecution Drops Charges against Angry Russian Blogger

The prosecutor's office in Syktyvkar annulled an earlier decision to bring criminal charges against a blogger who called Prime Minister Vladimir Putin a “pederast.” Journalist Pavel Safronov further suggested in a blog post that access to certain web sites in Syktyvkar (e.g., Twitter.com) was blocked because of Putin's visit to the city during which angry remarks were made against him.  In response to the blog post, criminal proceedings against Safronov were instituted on charges of “insulting a representative of the state power".  His office was also searched, and his computers were seized.  Safronov filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office explaining that he "believed in good faith" that Putin had engaged in homosexual relations. After the case became high-profile on the Russian web, the prosecutor's office cancelled the criminal proceedings and sent the materials for further linguistic examination.


http://genproc.gov.ru/news/news-13786/
http://onchoys.livejournal.com/394617.html
http://navalny.livejournal.com/539117.html