Igor Sutyagin Sentenced to 15 Years Hard Labor
April 12, 2004
Igor Sutyagin, 39, was a researcher with the U.S. and Canada Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Since 1998 he was the head of the subdivision for Military-Technical and Military-Economic Policy. He is the author and co-author of more than one hundred articles and books on military policy, nuclear weapons, and non-proliferation treaties in Russia, the United States, and various countries in Asia. Among others, he co-authored “Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces” (edited by Pavel Podvig, MIT Press, 2001).
On October 27, 1999, Igor Sutyagin was detained by the Russian security service, the FSB and accused of treason and espionage. The first trial ended in 2001. The judge returned the case to the FSB for further investigation. The case was transferred to the FSB headquarters in Moscow. The second trial began in November 2003. It was marked by seriuos irregularities – for example, the first jury, assembled in November 2003, was dismissed without explanations.
On April 7, 2004, the Moscow City Court sentenced Igor Sutyagin, a researcher from the U.S. and Canada Institute in Moscow, to 15 year hard labor. This sentence shocked the Russian society and the international community. Igor’s only “wrong-doing” was that he was involved in legitimate scientific analysis of publicly available information.
The prosecution of Igor Sutyagin sets a very dangerous precedent. It shows that in today’s Russia the security services can bring an accusation of espionage against anyone. The Russian judicial system is too weak to assure a defendant a fair trial under the pressure from the FSB.
As the case of Igor Sutyagin makes its way through the appeal process, he needs your help. Please, do what you can – you’ll find ideas on what you can do at at www.sutyagin.org. Persecution of scientists for their research must not be allowed to continue.
