Russia gulag historian walks free after child porn trial

A Russian gulag historian was today acquitted of child pornography charges and released in a move supporters hailed as a rare victory for the country's embattled rights activists.

Dmitriyev, whose trial sparked an outcry from rights activists and liberals, spent decades locating and exhuming mass graves of people killed under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule.

Activists have said the case against him was an attempt by authorities to muzzle the outspoken historian who has called attention to one of the darkest chapters in Russia's history.

"I am free," shouted historian Yury Dmitriyev after he was released in the courtroom following a closed-door hearing in the northwestern city of Petrozavodsk.

 

One of his daughters, Yekaterina, greeted her father in tears as supporters shouted "hurray."

Dmitriyev, who had spent more than a year in pre-trial detention, was however found guilty of firearm possession and released on conditions that will limit his freedom for the next three months.

He was handed a sentence of two-and-a-half years' "restricted freedom" -- but he only has three months left due to the time he spent in pre-trial detention, defence lawyer Viktor Anufriyev told reporters.

The 62-year-old, who is the head of rights group Memorial's branch in the northwestern Karelia region, called the ruling "just".

"Because nothing bad had happened," he said.

He said the authorities could not simply let him walk free after the high-profile trial, describing the firearm he was convicted of possessing as a fragment of "scrap metal" he had found some 20 years ago.

Prosecutors had requested nine years in a "harsh regime" colony for the outspoken activist.

The case centred on naked photographs of Dmitriyev's then pre-teen adopted daughter Natalya seized during a search of his home after an anonymous tip-off to police.

Dmitriyev's defence said the photographs were taken to track the girl's improvement as she recovered from malnutrition.

Observers had expected the verdict to serve as a barometer for the country's direction under the fourth Kremlin term of President Vladimir Putin, who extended his rule until 2024 in an election last month.

Many had not expected an acquittal.