MOSCOW (AP) - The former head of a U.S.-funded NGO who fled Russia to avoid what supporters called trumped-up smuggling charges won an appeal in the Constitutional Court on Tuesday.

Manana Aslamazyan's lawyer said the ruling that the law under which she was charged was unconstitutional was a sign of the potential for positive change in Russia under President Dmitry Medvedev. The new president has vowed to respect the civil rights that Kremlin critics say were trampled by his predecessor, Vladimir Putin.

Aslamazyan, former president of the Moscow-based Educated Media Foundation, was charged with smuggling after she carried a sum of money modestly exceeding the legal limit into Russia without declaring it.

The charge, punishable by up to five years in prison, was widely seen as a pretext for a campaign against the non-governmental organization. Aslamazyan took refuge in Paris and the foundation was forced to close by legal pressure including a raid and the confiscation of computers and documents.

Rights activists and Western nations saw the developments as a glaring example of government pressure on foreign-funded NGOs – which Putin accused of seeking to undermine his government – and the curtailment of media freedom in Russia.

Aslamazyan's widely respected foundation conducted programs to train journalists and media executives. It was the legal successor of Internews Russia, which received much of its funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development and from European sources.

The Constitutional Court, in its first decision since moving from Moscow to St. Petersburg, ruled that the article of law on which the smuggling charge was based was unconstitutional.

Aslamazyan's attorneys and supporters contended that the law was unfair because it meant anyone entering Russia with even a pocketful of coins over the 250,000 rubles allowed without a customs declaration could face five years in prison.

Aslamazyan's lawyer, Viktor Parshutkin, said the ruling means the charge must be dropped.

The judges "have sent a signal to society, to the authorities: let's build life in this country a little differently," Parshutkin said. "Enough persecuting people, enough repression, enough imprisoning people for no reason."

Aslamazyan could not immediately be reached for comment. Parshutkin said she was very pleased with the ruling but would not return to Russia unless authorities drop an "absurd" tax evasion investigation into the former leadership of the foundation.

He said the court decision could prompt authorities to abandon the tax case.

"All these cases against the foundation and Manana Aslamazyan were opened under the former president, Putin," said Parshutkin, who contended that Putin's Kremlin and the Federal Security Service, the KGB's main successor, were behind the cases.

Putin, a longtime KGB officer who is now prime minister, brought many people with intelligence backgrounds into high positions during his residency. He accused Western nations of meddling in Russia's affairs and said they used NGOs to weaken Russia.

Medvedev, a former law professor with no known KGB background, is being watched closely for signs that his inauguration-speech promise to hold civil rights sacred will lead to a less heavy-handed state and fewer politically motivated prosecutions.

"We expect changes," Parshutkin said.

Alexei Simonov, a media freedom advocate who heads the Glasnost Defense Fund and has led the Educated Media Foundation through its ongoing liquidation process, praised the ruling but said he did not see it as a sign of liberalization.

He said the ruling was unlikely to affect the fortunes of the defunct NGO, which he believes the Russian authorities feared might be used to support Kremlin opponents and saw as a threat because it advocated open media practices.

"The Educated Media Foundation essentially no longer exists – they achieved what they wanted," he said.