Alexey Pertsev, the Tornado Cash developer who was sentenced to five years and four months in prison by a three-judge panel in the Netherlands on charges of money laundering, will remain in jail while his appeal is processed after his bail request was denied.
Following Pertsev's conviction, the developer's legal team speedily filed for an appeal with the s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal and hoped to prepare for the trial at home, with access to the internet, after requesting bail.
However, the request for bail was denied, according to DL News, to the surprise of his defense lawyer. Pertsev's prison also denied the developer access to a computer in order to assist his lawyers in preparing for the trial, according to the report.
"Alexey will spend the next year in jail while his legal team prepares for the appeal hearing. This is a gross miscarriage of justice. Developers do not belong in jail for the actions of third parties," an X account associated with JusticeDAO, which is organizing donations for the legal defense of Tornado Cash's developers, posted.
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Pertsev is one of three Tornado Cash developers who have been targeted for their work on the cryptocurrency mixing protocol. Advocates say Tornado Cash protects privacy on the Ethereum blockchain and targeting its developers could have chilling effects on developers who write software for blockchains, while prosecutors generally contend that the Tornado Cash developers knowingly assisted or at least failed to stop unsavory organizations from using the platform to launder stolen funds.
Co-founder Roman Storm's legal case continues in the United States, while fellow co-founder Roman Semenov remains at large.
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