Right. After a detailed (and very boring) review of the video multiple times, and analysis of Josh's voiceprint, plus a discussion with him, some audio-position-tracking, a discussion with NATO, a five-minute interview with Russian president Putin, and a long ponder over tea and crumpets, I have taken the executive decision to unban Josh today.
Some matters arising (for everyone to take on board, not just Josh)...
If you get banned for something, always assume that the admins believed it to be a genuine reason at the time. Calling them, or the process, stupid, retarded, wrong, unfair, and generally 'griefing' the admins is unlikely to get your case moved up the list any quicker. Telling the admins their jobs, telling them that other bans have been processed ahead of you, or otherwise indicating to admins that you feel your case is somehow more important than anyone else's, will get you pretty much nowhere fast, and usually a lot slower going forward. This is by design. The admins are dedicated volunteers who are technically doing 'unban-requesters' a favour by even bothering to examine the case in any detail. We're not paid, we're not responsible for you or your conduct, and we're not here to be told what to do or challenged. We reserve the right to take as long as we see fit, and to carry on with our other duties and our lives, if you start being anything less than respectful or polite. We appreciate that frustrations may be high; more so if the person is technically not guilty (at least, not guilty of ALL of the crimes that got them banned), but that doesn't make any of this the admin's fault. Remember you need their HELP to get unbanned, even if you're innocent.
That said, I am confident enough in the evidence to sidestep the normal process and unban Josh on this occasion, despite it being a KR ban originally, and the fact that I usually prefer the banning-admin to do the unbanning. I don't see any sense in prolonging a situation where someone is evidently not guilty (or at least, not as guilty as originally determined), and can be unbanned sooner.
