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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

Date:	17 April 2000
Case Number:	ru9602_nik
Victim:	Alexander Nikitin
Country:	Russia
Subject:	Supreme Court of Russia Affirms Nikitin Acquittal
Issues:	Academic and scientific freedom; Freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention; Freedom of opinion and expression; Right to liberty and security of the person; Threat of long-term imprisonment or capital punishment
Type of alert:	Update
Related alerts:	22 February 1996; 15 May 1996; 30 December 1996; 30 June 1998; 19 February 1999; 6 July 1999; 9 September 1999; 29 December 1999; 21 March 2000; 14 September 2000

FACTS OF THE CASE:

The Russian Supreme Court today affirmed the December 1999 judgment of the St. Petersburg City Court, acquitting Aleksandr Nikitin of all charges. The prosecution had appealed the lower court's verdict to the Supreme Court. The prosecution originally asked the Court to send the case back to the St. Petersburg City Court, to be re-evaluated by another judge. It subsequently amended the request, instead asking the Supreme Court to send the case back to the FSB (successor to the KGB), for further investigation. According to the prosecution, the quality of the original FSB investigation was poor, which was a violation of Aleksandr Nikitin's due process rights.

The Supreme Court rejected the prosecution's claim as groundless, calling it "inconsistent and unacceptable."

The prosecution has a year in which it can appeal the decision. Although this is a possibility, in all likelihood, today's judgment brings to a happy conclusion Aleksandr Nikitin's four-year ordeal.

This ordeal began in October 1995, with the start of the FSB's investigation. The FSB claimed that Aleksandr Nikitin's reports for the Norwegian Bellona Foundation, on the environmental hazards posed by Russia's aging nuclear fleet, revealed state secrets. Aleksandr Nikitin has steadily maintained that all the information in the reports came from publicly available sources, and he documented this claim throughout a long series of court cases.

Supporters hailed this decision as a victory not only for Aleksandr Nikitin, but for the rule of law in Russia as well. Aleksandr Nikitin was quoted as saying, "Information about nuclear hazards, waste and accidents on board nuclear submarines is no threat to national security. It is the nuclear problems themselves that constitute a threat to Russia." According to the Bellona Foundation, the decision of the Russian Supreme Court should make it easier in the future for environmental scientists to continue their work on behalf of environmental safety and the public good in Russia.

Information for this update came from the Bellona Foundation. For more information, consult the Bellona Foundation's website at http://www.bellona.org

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Many thanks to all of those who sent appeals or provided other support to Aleksandr Nikitin. No further action is requested.

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