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Letter of Appeal from the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility

5 February 2001


Your Excellency Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
President of Russia
The Kremlin
Moscow
Russia
Fax: 011 7 095 206 5173 or 011 7 095 206 6277


Dear Mr. President:

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the largest organization of natural and social scientists in the United States, and the world's largest federation of scientific organizations, with 145,000 individual members and 300 affiliated groups. Our AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility was formed in 1976 to protect the human rights of scientists and to deal with issues relating to scientific freedom worldwide.

On behalf of the Committee, I am writing to express concern about the upcoming trial of Dr. Igor Sutyagin. It is the Committee's understanding that Dr. Sutyagin is being charged with high treason and espionage. The charges are related to a Canadian-funded research project on military-civilian relations in post-Soviet Union and Warsaw-Pact countries. Dr. Sutyagin, in his capacity as senior staff researcher at the Institute of USA and Canada Studies in Russia, interviewed civilian and military leaders. The questions used during the interviews were drafted in advance and were used in all 12 countries studied. Researchers encountered no similar charges in any of the other countries.

We are greatly concerned that prosecution is moving forward in spite of the apparent lack of evidence to support the charges of treason or espionage against Dr. Igor Sutyagin. As a civilian researcher with no military clearances, Dr. Sutyagin did not have access to any classified materials. He conducted his scientific research using only open source material. Reliable sources have stated that in the October 1999 search of his home and office, no classified military information was found. The year-long investigation conducted by the FSB apparently also failed to provide clear evidence to support the charges of treason and espionage against Dr. Sutyagin.

I understand that Dr. Sutyagin's trial has been rescheduled for 26 February 2001. Given the controversy surrounding the exact nature of the evidence against Dr. Sutyagin, I respectfully request that Dr. Igor Sutyagin's trial be held in an open forum in accordance with recognized international standards of justice.

If there is no clear evidence that Dr. Igor Sutyagin had access to classified materials, the Committee is concerned that the charges against him may stem solely from the legitimate scientific work that he was conducting for the Institute of USA and Canada Studies. This would be a serious violation of international human rights standards, including:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: (adopted without opposition by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948)
· Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
· Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his [or her] rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him [or her].
· Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: (The Russian Federation is a state party.)
· Article 9: (2): Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his [or her] arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him [or her]. (3) Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement. (4) Anyone who is deprived of his [or her] liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his [or her] detention and order his [or her] release if the detention is not lawful.
· Article 10: All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
· Article 14: (1) All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge against him [or her], or of his [or her] rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.
· Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers

Dr. Sutyagin has been held in prison for sixteen months during the investigation of the charges. I understand that the prison conditions are harsh, cells are overcrowded, and Dr. Sutyagin's health has suffered under such conditions. I sincerely hope that the trial will be conducted in an expeditious manner and that Dr. Sutyagin will be accorded all the protections and rights of a citizen of the Russian Federation.


Sincerely,

Irving Lerch
Chair
AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility

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