If operating z library is their only "crime" I wish the couple luck and thank them for their service. Hard to say what the money laundering charges are about though
For those curious, here's some info about the U.S. case: <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65760207/united-states-v-napolsky/" rel="nofollow">https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65760207/united-states-...</a><p>This seems to be the indictment: <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65760207/14/united-states-v-napolsky/" rel="nofollow">https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65760207/14/united-stat...</a><p>This is the motion to dismiss (filed July 12th 2023): <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/images/momodismiss.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://torrentfreak.com/images/momodismiss.pdf</a><p>And this is the prosecution's response (filed August 14th 2023): <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65760207/17/united-states-v-napolsky/" rel="nofollow">https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65760207/17/united-stat...</a><p>Apparently the defense filed a reply to the response on September 11th 2023, but I can't find it without having to pay for it.<p>There doesn't seem to be any additional information, it doesn't seem like there's been a hearing on the motion.
Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova have done humanity a great service and I sincerely thank them for it. They are true heroes. I hope they remain safe and out of reach from the deranged laws and the "justice" circuses that are US courts and their jesters.<p>For anyone wishing to engage in a public good that upsets a well-funded US industry (like sharing books, building emulators or compatibility software, fan games, etc), please consider hosting your project on Tor from the start.<p>If evil can flourish on Tor without prosecution, then so should the good.
I wish the publishing industry would create a flatrate model for books and magazines, I would gladly pay for it. With the current business model, digital versions are often more expensive than the printed one. Shadow libraries like z-lib, scihub or Annas Archive are just a symptom: we have a near unlimited demand for digital knowledge, but the supply logic still based on the idea of paper and scarcity.
The U.S. fed spends more money and political capital going after open libraries than the numerous and destructive violent offenders. Federal corruption is now so common it's a base expectation of life. That's how we know cyberpunk isn't fiction.
Most author's don't even make money from their books. Publishers take a massive chunk out of any profits they make, leaving them with barely anything.<p>So even if you buy the book, the author isn't really getting that much, they're probably still starving. The truth is it's the publishers that's not getting paid, and that's why all these lawsuits are happening. The political power one needs to even get someone extradited alone implies it's not just random authors banding together to sue, it's powerful rich publishers, someone with political connections. And prosecutors are going all out it seems, piling on BS charges of money laundering??<p>I hope the zadmins win. Maybe the ACLU can get in on this to drop the case, but they generally only take open-shut cases in their favor sadly.
Wow it must be really hard to be on the run like this. They can't have much money, I'm sure the few donations they get aren't lasting long and they had all the lawyers to pay for too. I hope they have made it to Russia.<p>While this service is somehow piracy it also highlights the huge gap of public libraries in the digital age, and they specialise specifically in scientific works which are often overpriced by publishers as far as i understand.
I don't think I ever used or bumped into the z-library. Did they have a subscription/paying type of account? Did they have ads running?<p>If they made any kind of revenue from that size, which they used to fund the domains/servers/etc, and their living expenses, that would be a reasonable accusation.
My university attending friend who is financially affluent wishes to know where people are downloading z library books now?<p>He is a law abiding stand up dude who pays for music and wants to write a thesis paper on z library and absolutely does not wish to download these books.<p>( He is also asking if there is any anime/manga books as he is an Asian American History major )
No one deserves the dehumanizing hell that is a US prison simply for making copies of information available.<p>God speed to the admins, and may justice prevail so they go free.