Dokument #1030735
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
According to a BBC report, two retired
servicemen were convicted of selling military secrets to Western
intelligence agents in March 1993 (BBC Summary 27 Mar. 1993). The
two, along with two accomplices, were sentenced to a maximum
security prison (ibid.). Information on specific cases where other
former military personnel have been charged or convicted for
revealing state secrets could not be found among the sources
currently available to the DIRB. However, media reports attest to
the fact that various industrialists, scientists, civilians and
acting military personnel have been charged with divulging state
secrets in recent years (ibid.; UPI 11 Mar. 1994; AP 24 Mar. 1993;
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 2 Mar. 1994).
According to article 64 of the Russian
criminal code as amended on 5 May 1990, the penalty for high
treason, which includes turning over state or military secrets to a
foreign state, is a prison term of between 10 and 15 years with
confiscation of property and possible exile for an additional two
to five years, or the death penalty with confiscation of property
(Russia, Ministry of Justice of the RSFSR 1990, 49).
Articles 75, 76 and 76(1) of the code state
that losing documents containing state secrets or revealing them
unintentionally can result in a prison term of three to eight years
(ibid., 53). Article 259 of the criminal code also states that
military personnel who lose documents containing military secrets,
or who reveal military secrets in the absence of indications of
treason, are subject to a prison term of between three months and
five years (ibid., 146-47). The sentence may be increased to ten
years if the action is considered to entail "serious consequences"
(ibid., 147).
Actual penalties handed down to individuals
convicted of spying or revealing state secrets have varied. For
example, Colonel Oleg Penovsky, who gave the CIA Soviet missile
secrets in the 1960's, and Adolf Tolkachev, who passed on Soviet
radar technology in the 1970's, were both executed by firing squad
(The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 2 Mar. 1994). In
January 1991 Major Vikor Kutsenko was sentenced to five years in
prison for handing over military secrets to a western intelligence
service (TASS 31 Jan. 1991).
In March 1993 the Associated Press reported
that four members of the Russian military convicted of selling
secrets to western intelligence agencies were sentenced to prison
terms of between 10 and 15 years (AP 24 Mar. 1993). The report
added that the defendants were given the right to appeal the
court's decision (ibid.). More recent media reports state that
charges against Vil Mirayanov, a scientist accused of divulging
secrets concerning Russia's chemical weapons program, had been
dropped (UPI 11 Mar. 1994).
For information on recent reforms to the
Russian military justice system that may be useful, and for
additional information on potential penalties for divulging states
secrets, please refer to the attached documents.
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
The Associated Press (AP). 24 March
1993. AM Cycle. "Four Russian Servicemen Get Prison Terms for
Spying." (NEXIS)
The Atlanta Journal and
Constitution. 2 March 1994. Joseph Albright. "Industrialist
Held as Spy in Moscow; Russian Accused of Selling Military Secrets
to British." (NEXIS)
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 27
March 1993. "Contradictory Reports on Trial of Servicemen on
Espionage Charges." (NEXIS)
Russia. Ministry of Justice of the
RSFSR. 1990. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federative
Socialist Republic. Moscow: Legal Literature.
The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
(TASS) International Service [Moscow, in Russian]. 31 January 1991.
"Major Jailed for 'Attempted Betrayal'." (FBIS-SOV-91-022 1 Feb.
1991, p. 18)
The United Press International (UPI). 11
March 1994. BC Cycle. "Charges Dropped Against Dissident Russian
Chemist." (NEXIS)
All-Union Radio First Program Radio-1
Network [Moscow, in Russian]. 29 October 1991. "Military
Procurator's Office Activities Halted." (FBIS-SOV-91-210 30 Oct.
1991, p. 53)
All-Union Radio Mayak Network [Moscow,
in Russian]. 26 October 1991. "Expert Discusses Military Law
Reform." (FBIS-SOV-91-209 29 Oct. 1991, pp. 39-40)
The Associated Press (AP) 24 March 1993.
"Four Russian Servicemen Get Prison Terms for Spying." (NEXIS)
The Atlanta Journal and
Constitution. 2 March 1994. Joseph Albright. "Industrialist
Held as Spy in Moscow Russian Accused of Selling Military Secrets
to British." (NEXIS)
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 27
March 1993. "Contradictory Reports on Trial of Service men on
Espionage Charges." (NEXIS)
Krasnaya Zvezda [Moscow, in Russian]. 12
November 1991. "Official Views Future of Prosecutor's Office."
(FBIS-SOV-91-223 19 Nov. 1991, pp. 42-43)
Russia. Ministry of Justice of the
RSFSR. 1990. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federated
Socialist Republic. Moscow: Legal Literature. pp. 49, 53,
146-47.
Russian Television Network [Moscow, in
Russian]. 28 March 1992. "Minister Fedorov on Tatarstan,
Tribunals." (FBIS-SOV-92-065 3 Apr. 1992, p. 28)
Sovetskaya Rossiya [Moscow, in
Russian]. 12 September 1991. "Assistant Chief Military Prosecutor
Interviewed." (FBIS-SOV-91-179 16 Sept. 1991, pp. 48-49)
The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
(TASS). 31 January 1991. "Major Jailed for 'Attempted Betrayal'."
(FBIS-SOV-91-022 1 Feb. 1991, p. 18)
[Moscow, in English]. 11 November 1991.
"Prosecutor's Office Reform Plans Outlined." (FBIS-SOV-91-220 14
Nov. 1991, p. 31)
United Press International (UPI). 11
March 1994. "Charges Dropped Against Dissident Russian Chemist."
(NEXIS)