Country Listing: Russia

Name: Alexandr Nikitin
Profession: Engineering
Subject: Engineer Under

Investigation
Alert Dates: 30 June 1998, 30 December

1996, 15 May 1996,

22 February 1996

Case Number: RU9602.NIK

Updated: 30 October 1998

Human Rights Issues

• threat of long-term imprisonment or capital punishment
• right to life, liberty and security of person
• right to conduct professional activities without interference
• freedom of opinion and expression
• freedom of association
• right to travel

A judge presiding over the trial of Alexandr Nikitin, a Russian engineer working for the Norwegian ecological foundation Bellona, declared that the indictment presented by prosecutors was too unclear and sent the case back to the Federal Security Bureau (FSB) for further investigation. The decision, considered a major victory for Nikitin, represents the first time that the court has dismissed an indictment of treason. Although the court's decision was favorable, Nikitin, who remains under investigation, continues to be under "city arrest." He is not allowed to leave St. Petersburg.

Nikitin's lawyers plan to bring the case before the European Human Rights Court on the grounds that his case has not been resolved in a reasonable time period; it has dragged on for two years.

(Sources of information on this case include the Bellona Foundation, USA, The St. Petersburg Times, the American Chemical Society, Moscow Human Rights Research Center, and The Toronto Star.)

Relevant International Treaty Articles

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. They include:

Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

• Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person (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).

Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

• Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his own country (Article 13, 2); and
• everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression (Article 19).

As a State Party, Russia is legally bound to uphold the rights and freedoms listed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified by Russia on 16 October 1973).

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