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Russian Environmental Whistleblower's Appeal Denied Case Against Russian Environmental Whistleblower Goes to Russia's Supreme Court Background
The Pasko case bears similarities to the case against former Russian navy captain Aleksandr Nikitin, who was also charged with revealing state secrets when he documented nuclear waste problems caused by decaying nuclear submarines in Russia's Northern Fleet. Now that the Nikitin case has finally been resolved, Russia is revisiting its sins of the past in pursuing the case against Mr. Pasko. More than Mr. Pasko is on trial in Vladivostok. Russia's reputation as an emerging democracy is also on the docket. Russia should dismiss the case and set Mr. Pasko free. Disclosing information on an environmental problem is not a crime.
Alexander Nikitin, a retired captain in the Russian Northern Fleet was charged with espionage, a charge which carries the death penalty. Nikitin's "crime" was coauthoring a report with Norway's Bellona Foundation about nuclear waste disposal in Russia's far north. The embarrassed government accused Nikitin of exposing state secrets, even though Russian newspapers had previously published the information. Read the Sierra Club's reaction to Nikitin's aquittal, or find out all the background about the case. More Information about the Nikitin case
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Grigory Pasko, a Russian journalist who helped disclose nuclear waste problems in Russia's Pacific Fleet was found guilty of treason and sentenced to four years in prison by a military court in Vladivostok. Pasko was arrested in 1997 for revealing state secrets. In reality, Pasko's only "crime" was providing a Japanese television news station with information on Russia's illegal nuclear waste dumping in the Sea of Japan. 