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.

References

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)

Attachments

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)