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back to article Debian bins keys assigned to arrested Russian contributor

Debian has removed keys assigned to developer Dmitry Bogatov after he was arrested by Russian authorities for using the internet to organise protests. Or, as Russian outlet TASS puts it, “for terrorism and attempts to stage unrest in Moscow.” Bogatov was remanded in custody for two months, but claims he was not at his keyboard …

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  1. ElReg!comments!Pierre

    'twas a bit more than organizing protests

    What I read was that he was arrested afters comments calling for violence were posted from his IP (calls for Molotov cocktails, if memory serves). As he is running a TOR exit node, it is entirely possible that the calls were made by someone else entirely. In fact, if he can prove that he was not at home at the time, and if the Russian judiciary is less dense than it's murkin counterpart, he should be in the clear. Wich, of course, means that he's screwed.

    Don't be an ass, don't use TOR for illegal activity, especially when you know you'll need an exit node (i.e. TOR-to-clearweb)

    Note that French law makes the leasee of an IP legally responsible for every bit of traffic bound to that IP, better secure your WiFi APs and not run an exit node there...

    10 0 Reply
    1. Frank Zuiderduin
      Reply Icon

      Re: 'twas a bit more than organizing protests

      Screwed indeed. Apparently, he's clearly visible on video at a food store at the time the posting was made, but that hasn't helped him.

      9 0 Reply
      1. Aitor 1
        Reply Icon

        Re: 'twas a bit more than organizing protests

        Of course not, they want him ,so....!

        4 0 Reply
      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 'twas a bit more than organizing protests

        I'm at work right now but this post is coming from my home IP.

        I'm using something called a vpn.

        3 1 Reply
    2. Phil W
      Reply Icon

      Re: 'twas a bit more than organizing protests

      @Pierre "if he can prove that he was not at home at the time"

      "Apparently, he's clearly visible on video at a food store at the time the posting was made"

      Sorry but from a technical perspective those points don't prove it wasn't him.

      He could have been away from home, but connected via VPN to home (or even by TOR and exiting through his own node) and posting from a laptop or mobile device.

      Video of him doing something else at the time it was posted certainly rules out him doing it at that time, but with almost any blog/social media platform there are ways to schedule posts to be made automatically at a certain time whether it be built in functionality or third party.

      We're not talking a physical crime that required him to be present here, we're talking about an electronic one that could have been done from anywhere at any time.

      Not that these possibilities prove he did it either of course! But if you're going to be a social/political activist aiming to piss off a government with a reputation for dirty tricks, then hosting a service such as TOR which allows illegal acts to be potentially traced back to you is probably not the brightest idea, it leaves you open to blame for the acts of idiots or even government agents out to pin things on you.

      1 2 Reply
      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: 'twas a bit more than organizing protests

        "But if you're going to be a social/political activist aiming to piss off a government with a reputation for dirty tricks, then hosting a service such as TOR which allows illegal acts to be potentially traced back to you is probably not the brightest idea, it leaves you open to blame for the acts of idiots or even government agents out to pin things on you."

        The fact he may be a political activists who runs a TOR exit node would imply he'd be pretty stupid to post "incitement" from his own IP address in the first place, so yes, I'd say it's pretty likely it was someone else exiting through his node

        3 0 Reply
  2. bombastic bob Silver badge
    Big Brother

    Yeah, well there's a risk involved in operating a Tor exit node, when you're in places like Russia.

    Just sayin'.

    6 1 Reply
    1. Eddy Ito
      Reply Icon

      Yeah, my thought was they were looking to bust him for the TOR node and just needed a pretext. I guess they managed to "find" one.

      4 0 Reply
    2. Eltonga
      Reply Icon

      there's a risk involved in operating a Tor exit node, when you're in places like Russia

      Actually it is dangerous in a varying degree almost anywhere... if some pedophile traffic could be traced back to the node (and I don't think that is extremely improbable), one would have to handle PRs veeery smoothly.

      1 0 Reply
  3. Potemkine Silver badge
    Black Helicopters

    Sticking to old habits

    Deporting people who disagree in Siberia is second nature for russian politically motivated puppets judges.

    5 1 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      @potemkine

      Better Siberia than Guantanomo IMO.

      4 5 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @potemkine

        Fan of cold weather ?

        1 0 Reply
      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @potemkine

        Better Siberia than Guantanomo IMO

        I tend to agree - but then, I grew up in Siberia as a kid, and lived most of my life in a similar climate. It is really not bad, at least in the southern Siberia: it can get rather cold in winter (peak day-time temperatures below -20C are completely normal for a few months a year), but it is dry cold - something I find much easier to handle than, say, US/Canada east coast winter. There is also a fair bit of snow, which usually comes early and tends to preserve plant life you would not expect in a cold area; some people manage to cultivate grapes and melons without using hothouses. Southern Siberia is also very nice in summer - dry, sunny, and very warm - easily into high 20s to low 30s Centigrade for several months).

        Overall, for most people of north- and central-european descent, Siberian climate is probably more agreeable than that you'd find at Gitmo.

        Prison camps, on the other hand, tend to be nasty no matter where they are. Maximum-security prison camps are even more so.

        5 0 Reply
  4. Alistair
    Coat

    hmmm.

    Niemoller's poem come to mind anyone?

    /the one with a megphone in the pocket.

    5 0 Reply
  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Niemoller's poem come to mind anyone?

    Here it is:

    Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist.

    Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

    Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

    Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

    Interestingly enough, the version displayed so prominently at the US Holocaust museum is not an accurate translation. I guess the US, and most of the "free" world with it, is already at the second line ...

    1 0 Reply
    1. Alistair
      Reply Icon
      Black Helicopters

      Re: Niemoller's poem come to mind anyone?

      I'll note that Niemoller recited *several* versions of the poem in public, in more than just German. His point stands, pretty much globally right now.

      /appropriate icon

      0 0 Reply
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "You're either with us or with the terrorists" -Bush

    "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."

    In 21st century USA first started the labeling game using English media for it's own covert agenda. After seeing it's effectiveness, everyone is following it's footstep. Want to hide your dirty work? Accuse your opponents for doing "Terrorism!" before destroying them. Cause the world/western media still got a weak point about that word. Every power now has its "English" propaganda network. So now Putin doing it, Asaad doing it, even the communist govt. of China doing it(http://nextshark.com/china-band-burwas-beards-extremism-in-uyghur-region-xinjiang/

    Entertaing, Read in full).

    3 1 Reply
  7. DanceMan

    Terrorists

    I noticed while watching "A French Village," which I highly recommend, a six season series about an occupied French village during WW2, that at least by the English subtitles, the German occupiers referred to the French resistance as "terrorists." Makes you think twice when you hear the word.

    So if you're a furriner and we don't like you, we'll accuse you of spying. If native, a terrorist.

    6 0 Reply
  8. Marcel
    Black Helicopters

    Shoot the messenger?

    Either the police is dumb and think IP-address is proof owner did it (common mistake). Or they are not so dumb, and want to send a message to those pesky folks making anonymity possible by running a Tor node.

    By the way, according to https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/04/10/mathematics-teacher-accused-of-inciting-mass-riots-now-also-accused-of-supporting-terrorism-and-once-again-detained this guy "is a “very law-abiding person” and will not even cross the street unless there was a crosswalk.", according to his mom.

    0 0 Reply
  9. trollmonster666

    Fallguy

    The powers that be don't care if Bogatov actually was at his keyboard any more than if Assad gassed his own people. They just needed a convenient scapegoat.

    1 0 Reply

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