Writer and environmentalist Alexander Nikitin detained on charges of treason for authoring report on nuclear hazards

On 6 February 1996, Alexander Nikitin, the co-author of a report by the Oslo-based environmental group Bellona entitled “The Russian Northern Fleet: Sources of Radioactive Contamination”, was arrested by Russian authorities. He has been charged under Article 64 of the Russian Criminal Code with treason, which carries a prison term of between 10 and 15 […]

On 6 February 1996, Alexander Nikitin, the co-author of a report
by the Oslo-based environmental group Bellona entitled “The
Russian Northern Fleet: Sources of Radioactive Contamination”,
was arrested by Russian authorities. He has been charged under
Article 64 of the Russian Criminal Code with treason, which
carries a prison term of between 10 and 15 years or the death
penalty. Nikitin is specifically accused of collecting “state
secrets” which he then used in Chapter 8 of the report entitled
“Catastrophes and Accidents on Nuclear Submarines.” He is also
charged with delivering this information to Bellona’s
representative in Russia and then copying it to its office in
Norway.

Bellona’s report was presented to the G7+1 Moscow Summit on
Nuclear Safety and Security on 18 April. It focuses on the
prevention of nuclear accidents and includes an assessment of the
environmental hazards connected with nuclear waste.
Nikitin does not deny that he gathered the information for which
he is charged, but states that the material he used comes from
freely available publications. His lawyer argues that
Presidential Decree No 1203 passed in November 1995 lists only 22
military related items which can be considered “state secrets.”
He says that none of the information gathered by Nikitin is
covered by the Decree. He adds that the prosecution’s
interpretation of a state secret is based on an obsolete Ministry
of Defence order which lists at least 700 items, some of which
are specifically classified as not being “state secrets” by both
Presidential Decree 1203 and the Russian Constitution.
For the first two months of his imprisonment Nikitin was refused
representation by a lawyer of his choice and denied visits from
his family. While these two problems have since been rectified,
Nikitin’s application for bail has been refused and his term of
detention has been extended to 4 July. His trial is due to start
some time in the fall.
Nikitin and other Bellona researchers claim to have been subject
to consistent surveillance and harassment by the Russian security
services since October 1995. They report that their offices in
Murmansk were raided on 6 October and computers and research
material seized. Around 60 environmental workers in Russia claim
to have been interrogated and harassed in recent months.
Bellona’s web-site providing updates on the case can be accessed
on http://www.grida.no/ngo/bellona/nikitin.htm. The report is
available on the Internet via http://www.grida.no/ngo/bellona.

Recommended Action

His Excellency Boris Yeltsin

President

Moscow, Russia

Fax: +70 95 206 39 61/206 51 37/206 00 33

Government Press Office Fax: +70 95 230 24 08

or e-mail c/o Marat Guriev, Administration of President Yeltsin:

marat@guriev.niiros.msk.su

His Excellency Yuri Skuratov

Prosecutor General of Russia

Moscow, Russia

Fax: +70 95 292 88 48/+70 95 925 18 79

Col. Gen Anatoly Kulikov

Minister of Internal Affairs

Moscow, Russia

Fax: + 70 92 30 25 80

the Russian diplomatic representative to your country

(in Canada)

Ambassador Alexander M. Belogonov

Embassy of the Russian Federation

285 Charlotte St.

Ottawa, Ontario

K1N 8L5 Canada

Fax: +1 613 236 6342

(in the United States)

Embassy of the Russian Federation

Washington, DC

United States

Fax: +1 202 298 5735