Russian Physicist Sentenced to 12 Years for Treason - The Moscow Times
www.themoscowtimes.com
A Moscow court has sentenced a physicist who worked on hypersonic development to 12 years in a penal colony on treason charges, the independent Mediazona news website reported Friday.  Anatoly Gubanov, 66, is the former head of the Aerodynamics of Aircrafts and Rockets Department at the Moscow region’s Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI).  He was detained in December 2020 and accused of passing secret hypersonic development materials to colleagues from the Netherlands with whom he collaborated on the HEXAFLY-INT, the world’s first civil hypersonic airliner.

According to the Perviy Otdel human rights project, project reports passed by Gubanov and Golubkin to their Dutch colleagues had been examined by three specialized commissions prior to submission. None of these commissions found state secrets in the reports, Perviy Otdel said.

Several Russian scientists have been jailed in recent years in what critics say is a reflection of the state’s increasing paranoia toward scientific cooperation with foreign countries.

The scientific community has warned that treason cases against scientists will have a chilling effect on young researchers.

  • Eheran@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    It is not like the border is a wall or something like around north Korea. If they want to leave, they will.

    • S410@kbin.social
      1·
      1 year ago

      You do realize that crossing a border is illegal, even if there’s no wall, right?

      First: leaving Russia without a permit is illegal and punishable by fines and/or prison.
      Second: Entering any country without a permit is illegal and will get you deported and banned from entering it ever again.

      Merely being Russian does not grant anyone asylum rights. Poland and the Baltic states, for example, won’t consider any asylum requests, even from persons who are being conscripted. At most, the process can be slowed down with appeals to last a year or more, but it will, almost certainly, end up in deportation back to Russia, followed by Russia prosecuting the deflectors.

      Even North Koreans get deported back to NK, despite the fact that the country is considered to be hellhole by pretty much everyone, everywhere.

      • Eheran@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        1 year ago

        Oh no it is illegal! Just like any form of draft evasion. Well then just stay and go to the front, the legal way to do things. Much better option.

        • S410@kbin.social
          1·
          1 year ago

          What a great set of options!

          Either become a criminal by deflecting and crossing the border illegally, only to face constant fear of being caught, deported and prosecuted for deflection, illegal border crossing, and treason… Which is basically, a life sentence.

          Or become a criminal in the eyes of the civilized world by participating in an attack on a sovereign country. Which, honestly, will most likely result in death.

          So, basically: being a Russian, who can’t afford to leave the country via the convoluted and expensive ways that are still available, is a crime. Got it! Nice!

        • Vriska@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          Maybe instead it’d be better to make the process legal and easier from the outer side so more russians leave and 1) dont get drafted and 2) dont pay taxes to russia?