Sergey Piontkovski

Profession: Marine Biologist

Dr. Sergey Piontkovski, a marine biologist from Ukraine, was accused of revealing state secrets for publishing his unclassified research on plankton and illegal currency transactions for accepting grants from foreign funding organizations in October 1999. Dr. Piontkovski's case was taken up by the international scientific community, human rights advocates, and friends and colleagues, who organized letter-writing campaigns, shared information on a special website set up for the purpose, and began raising funds for his legal defense. These collective efforts were successful. The authorities eventually dropped the charges against him, returned his passport, and permitted him to leave Ukraine with his family in March 2000. Dr. Piontkovski is now living in the United States, where he is currently associated with Marine Sciences Research Center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Sergey Piontkovski believes that the international attention and actions on his behalf were largely responsible for his release.