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

19 March 1999

The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr.
Office of the Vice President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20501

Dear Mr. Vice President:

We are writing to you on behalf of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility regarding the continued investigation of Alexandr Nikitin on whose behalf you negotiated with the former Russian Prime Minister. On 4 February 1999, the Russian Supreme Court returned the case of Alexandr Nikitin, to the Russian Federal Security Services (FSB) for further investigation. The Court confirmed a St. Petersburg City Court ruling of 29 October 1998. Therefore, Mr. Nikitin remains under investigation on charges of treason and espionage. He still faces the threat of long-term imprisonment, and his passport remains confiscated. He is not permitted to leave St. Petersburg.

We are concerned about the ongoing investigation of Mr. Nikitin, and similar such cases, which have had a chilling effect on the environmental movement in Russia. The case of Grigory Pasko, a journalist reporting on nuclear contamination who was recently indicted on the charge of high treason is just one example. He faces a twenty-year prison sentence.

The Committee is deeply concerned that the continued persecution of individuals reporting on nuclear environmental contamination may result in the unchecked dumping of nuclear waste and further environmental degradation. The report for which Mr. Nikitin is being prosecuted addresses sources of radioactive contamination by the Russian Northern fleet. The area under investigation houses 18% of the world's nuclear reactors. The Bellona report revealed that 90 reactors are stored under unsafe conditions, eighteen reactor cores are stored under similar conditions on board storage ships and barges. The report also documents that without international cooperation and financing, a grave situation could arise, which can be described as "Chernobyl in slow motion." The report concludes that Russia and other states must now increase the availability of information regarding military nuclear waste, and permission must be given for national and international bodies to inspect nuclear waste from military sources.

It is our understanding that the Acting Procurator General of Russia has the authority to dismiss Mr. Nikitin's case. However, this is unlikely without high-level political pressure, as he publicly called Mr. Nikitin a spy in 1996. We were pleased by Secetary of State Madeleine Albright's public statement about Mr. Nikitin's case during a recent speech in Moscow, and your private appeals on Mr. Nikitin's behalf. Public calls for Mr. Nikitin's release, particularly prior to your meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Primakov this month are likely to benefit Mr. Nikitin.

The arrest of Alexandr Nikitin is in violation of Article 42 of the Russian Constitution, which prohibits secrecy in matters that may constitute hazards towards the environment or the health of human beings. In addition, it is contrary to human rights provisions enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Russian Federation is a state party. They include:

Under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

* No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile (Article 9); and
* Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression . . . (Article 19).


Under the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

* Everyone has the right to liberty and security of the person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention . . . (Article 9); and
* Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers . . . (Article 19).


We respectfully request that you use your good offices to urge Prime Minister Primakov to drop the charges against Alexandr Nikitin immediately and unconditionally, on the grounds that he was conducting legitimate scientific work for the Bellona Foundation.

Sincerely,



Irving Lerch, Ph.D.
Co-Chair
AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom
and Responsibility

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