04.2008 - Source: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik

Article on political pressure on the educational system and sciences in Russia: The case of the European University in St. Petersburg ("Russlands Wissenschaft unter Druck; Schließung der Europäischen Universität in St. Petersburg vorerst abgewendet") [ID 23928]

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11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Government did not restrict academic freedom; however, human rights organizations questioned whether convictions of Igor Sutyagin, Valentin Danilov, and others inhibited academic freedom ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22615]

"The government did not restrict academic freedom; however, human rights and academic organizations questioned whether the convictions of Igor Sutyagin, Valentin Danilov, and others inhibited academic freedom and contact with foreigners on subjects that the authorities might deem sensitive.

In May prosecutors in Novosibirsk dropped their case against rocket scientist Oleg Korobeinichev, who had been accused of disclosing state secrets for participating in a foreign research grant program. In July the deputy head of the Prosecutor's Office publicly apologized to Korobeinichev for any damage that may have been caused by falsely accusing him.

In 2005 authorities found the Sakharov Center director and a staff member guilty of inciting religious hatred in connection with a 2003 exhibit of religious themed art that many viewed as provocative. In June a Moscow district prosecutor opened a criminal case against the Sakharov Center director for instigation of ethnic and religious hatred because the center had hosted a provocative art exhibit in March. The case remained under investigation."

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06.2007 - Source: Freedom House

Arrest and prosecution of scientists and researchers on charges of treason, usually for discussing sensitive technology with foreigners, has engendered climate in some research institutes that is restrictive of international contacts; new law requires that Russian president appoints president of Academy of Sciences ("Freedom in the World 2007") [ID 20518]

"Academic freedom is generally respected, although the academic system is marred by corruption at the higher levels and by very low salaries for educators. The arrest and prosecution of scientists and researchers on charges of treason, usually for discussing sensitive technology with foreigners, has engendered a climate in some research institutes that is restrictive of international contacts. In December 2006, a new law required that the Russian president appoint the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences after he has been elected by the academy’s general assembly. Critics claim that the new requirement of the presidential appointment means that the academy has lost its independence. Although it was dependent on the federal budget, the academy has so far retained autonomy over management and spending. It remains unclear how the change will affect the academy’s funding priorities."

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08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

FSB detained scientist Oskar Kaibyshev on charges linked to exporting sensitive technological information to South Korea ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 11758]

"In February the FSB detained Oskar Kaibyshev on charges linked to exporting sensitive technological information to South Korea while working as a research scientist. Several scientific panels stated that the information Kaibyshev gave the South Koreans was not subject to export controls. The espionage charges initially brought against Kaibyshev were later dropped, but he still faced other criminal charges related to the case. Kaibyshev was later charged with unsanctioned export of technologies and theft. Court hearings opened in Ufa on October 31 behind closed doors. The trial was ongoing at year's end."

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08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Valentin Danilov, who had been charged with spying for China, sentenced to 13 years ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 11759]

"In June 2004 the Supreme Court overturned the 2003 jury acquittal of Valentin Danilov, who had been charged with spying for China while working on a commercial contract. In November 2004 Danilov was convicted by a judge and sentenced to 14 years. On June 29, the Supreme Court reduced his sentence to 13 years. Danilov has an appeal before the Supreme Court and the ECHR. In August he was transferred from a pretrial detention center to a prison."

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08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Igor Sutyagin, a disarmament researcher, convicted for espionage related charges; NGOs raised concerns that the charges were politically motivated ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 11760]

"In August the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Igor Sutyagin, a disarmament researcher with the US and Canada Institute, against his conviction for espionage related charges. Prosecutors accused Sutyagin of passing classified information about the country's nuclear weapons to a London-based firm, but the Kaluga regional court ruled in 2001 that the evidence presented by the prosecutor did not support the charges brought against him and returned the case to the prosecutor for further investigation. In April 2004 a Moscow city court found Sutyagin guilty and sentenced him to 14 years in a maximum security facility (the sentence included time served since his arrest in October 1999). Sutyagin claimed the decision was unjust and insisted that he had no access to confidential information. Some observers agreed that he had no access to classified information and described the severe sentence as an effort to discourage citizens from sharing sensitive information with professional colleagues from other countries. Russian government officials asserted that Sutyagin had wittingly or unwittingly entered into a paid arrangement with a foreign intelligence service. Because of the conduct of the trial and lengthy sentence, a number of domestic and international human rights NGOs raised concerns that the charges were politically motivated. At year's end Sutyagin was allegedly in a penal facility in Arkhangelsk Oblast and his attorneys were reportedly appealing the move."

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08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Government did not restrict academic freedom; human rights organizations questioned whether the convictions of Sutyagin, Danilov, and others inhibited academic freedom ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 11761]

"The government did not restrict academic freedom; however, human rights and academic organizations questioned whether the convictions of Sutyagin, Danilov, and others inhibited academic freedom and contact with foreigners on subjects that the authorities might deem sensitive (see section 1.e.)."

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08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Repressive campaign against scholars continues; Sutyagin and Danilov sentenced ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41473],  [ID 11762]

"Russia continued its repressive campaign against scholars and academics throughout the year. In April, Igor Sutyagin, head of the Military-Technical and Military-Economic Policy subdivision of the Moscow-based Institute of U.S. and Canada Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of passing state military secrets to British and U.S. intelligence. Sutyagin denied the charges, saying he made use only of declassified source materials in his research. Human rights groups widely condemned the sentence, asserting that it was based on spurious charges intended by the government to limit international cooperation among scholars. In November, physicist Valentin Danilov was sentenced to 14 years in a Siberian prison on charges of passing space secrets to China. Danilov had earlier been found innocent of the charges in a jury trial, but the Supreme Court had overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial in June 2004."

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08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Academic freedom generally accepted; cases of corruption and prosecution of scientists ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41473],  [ID 11763]

"Academic freedom is generally respected, although the academic system is marred by some corruption at the higher levels and by very low levels of pay for educators. The year’s prosecutions of scientists and researchers on charges of treason created a chill in some research institutes, engendering a climate that is restrictive of international contacts."

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29.06.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Supreme Court reduced jail term of physicist convicted of spying for China by one year to 13 years ("Russian Scientist Gets Reduced Sentence") [#33340],  [ID 11764]

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03.06.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

‘Spy-mania’ – espionage charges against scientists, journalists and environmentalists ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation [Doc. 10568]") [#32710],  [ID 11765]

For a documentation of individual cases please refer to the original document

"394. Throughout the past eight years, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has pressed often dubious espionage charges against about a dozen scientists, journalists, and environmentalists224. Each of the defendants had worked with foreign contacts on issues that, in Soviet times, were under the exclusive control of the FSB's predecessor, the KGB – nuclear waste dumping, environmental degradation, Russia's military preparedness, military technology, and the like – but that became topics of broader public debate during the glasnost era. Leading human rights campaigners, who have coined the term "spy mania" (in Russian: shpionomania) to describe the series of espionage cases, believe the FSB has intentionally pressed false charges against these individuals to restore what it sees as its exclusive dominion, and to impose new limitations on freedom of expression on these topic.(…)"

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19.05.2005 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Irregularities at espionage cases against well-known researchers ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2005 (Events 2004)") [#32117],  [ID 11766]

"Developments in espionage cases against well-known researchers reflected a broader problem of due process violations within the Russian judicial system. In a number of cases initiated by the Federal Security Service (FSB), researchers with contacts abroad have been charged with spying despite evidence indicating that they have used only non-classified information in their work. The cases have typically dragged on for years and have been characterized by serious procedural irregularities. Among the victims of this “spy mania” are historian Igor Sutyagin and physicist Valentin Danilov.

• The case of Igor Sutyagin, who was initially arrested in 1999 for allegedly passing classified military information to foreign citizens, was transferred to the Moscow City Court in 2003. After repeated delays, this court found Sutyagin guilty of high treason in a closed trial in April 2004 and sentenced him to 15 years in a strict regime colony. This was the longest prison term imposed for high treason in Russia since Soviet times. The trial against Sutyagin was characterized by numerous irregularities. While the judge in charge of the case was replaced in February 2004 without any satisfactory explanation, the new judge barred the jury from hearing relevant exculpatory evidence, excluded key questions of fact from its deliberations and omitted central issues from the interrogatory questions that the jury used in formulating its verdict, such as whether Sutyagin had handed over classified information to foreign sources, whether he had the intent of doing so and whether his actions had damaged national security. In a joint statement together with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Public Committee for the Protection of Scientists, the IHF and the MHG expressed concern regarding the ruling and called for a retrial in full accordance with international fair trial standards. However, in August, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the defense, which requested a new trial because of procedural violations, and upheld the verdict by the Moscow City Court. The Supreme Court did not offer any justification for its decision. As of the end of the year, Sutyagin was serving his sentence in a maximum security prison.

• Valentin Danilov, who was arrested in 2001 on suspicion of providing secret information about space technology to China while working as a researcher at a state university, was acquitted in a jury trial at a Krasnyoarsk court in December 2003. However, in response to a petition by the prosecution, the Supreme Court dismissed the acquittal on procedural grounds in June 2004 and sent the case for retrial. The Supreme Court delivered its seven-page decision after only 15 minutes of deliberation and many observers voiced the suspicion that the decision had been prepared in advance. The IHF expressed its deep concern at the decision, saying that it failed to see how the minor technical matters cited by the prosecution in its petition could be considered to have unduly influenced the jury’s verdict. In November 2004, another Krasnoyarsk court found Danilov guilty of disclosing classified information to representatives of a foreign state as well as fraud and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. The verdict was reached although no new evidence to support the charges against Danilov was presented to the court in the course of the proceedings. Thus, the verdict was based merely on an expert report from 1999, which – contrary to the law – was not written by people who were experts in the specific area where Danilov conducted research but by people who were only superficially familiar with it. A number of well-known scientists have maintained that the findings of Danilov’s research have been in the open domain for several years and do not constitute classified information."

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05.11.2004 - Source: BBC News

Russian physicist convicted of spying for China nearly a year after being acquitted of the charges ("Retrial convicts Russia space spy") [#26875],  [ID 11767]

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11.06.2004 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Acquittal by jury of Krasnoiarsk-based scientist Valentin Danilov overturned by Supreme Court, that send the case for a retrial ("IHF condemns retrial ordered for Valentin Danilov: warns against rising “Spy-mania”") [#23286],  [ID 11768]

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02.06.2004 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Russian arms researcher convicted on what appear to be politically motivated treason charges, should be given a prompt retrial that meets international standards of fairness/ he received a 15-year sentence, the longest prison term for high treason since Soviet times ("Russia: Fair Retrial Needed in 'Spy' Case") [#23028],  [ID 11769]

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07.04.2004 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

15-year jail term handed down by a Moscow court today to Igor Sutiagin for treason ("Russia: 15-year Jail Term for Sutiagin Condemned: IHF Calls for Conviction to Be Quashed") [#21200],  [ID 11771]

"The sentence followed a day after a jury found Sutiagin guilty as charged on accusations of passing information on weapons systems to a western company, Alternative Futures. The court ignored evidence from Sutiagin’s defence that the reports supplied to the company were compiled from information readily available in the public domain.

“Once again, we are witnessing the troubling phenomenon of “spy-mania” that has come to characterize Russia under President Putin's administration”, stated Dr. Aaron Rhodes, Executive Director of the IHF. “The international community and the Russian public should condemn this creeping authoritarianism that threatens to reverse Russia’s democratic development”, he added.

The IHF is seriously concerned by the failure of the judge to ask the jury to address the question regarding the alleged classified nature of the materials Sutiagin supplied. [...]"

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