Russian Court Annuls Previous Decision to Block Bitcoin-Related Site

The City Court of St. Petersburg, Russia has overturned the District Court's previous decision to block crypto media website Bitcoininfo.

The District Court's judgement was handed down in July 2016 in compliance with a ban on crypto-related information sources, as digital currencies like Bitcoin were not legal in country.

As TASS reports, the new decision was enacted after the Supreme Court of Russia referred the case for consideration to the St. Petersburg City Court, following a complaint action from the owner of Bitcoininfo.

"The St. Petersburg City Court overturned the District Court's decision that recognized the information placed on the website Bitcoininfo.ru as prohibited for viewing."

The press service of the Court also reported that in July 2016 the St. Petersburg Vyborg District Court banned the website per the application of local prosecutors.

The case was considered by the court without the website owners present.

He also noted that the City Court refused to accept a request for appeal after the ban was enacted.

Per the case file, local prosecutors requested a ban on the website because it contained information about cryptocurrencies, which are "Outside of government control," "Facilitate growth of the shadow economy," and "Do not have specific consumer properties."

Earlier this year the City Court of St. Petersburg, annulled a trial court's previous decision to ban 40 Bitcoin-related websites in the Russian Federation.

The court's decision precedes an upcoming crypto regulatory framework that is scheduled for July 1 by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin.