Alerts in Russia
Retired Teacher Facing Intimidation and Harassment
Action Alert
Date: 22 June 2010
A retired history teacher in Ingushetia, is facing harassment and intimidation due to his inquiries into the enforced disappearance of his son, Amnesty International has reported.
Professor’s Contract Discontinued After Criticism of President
Action Alert
Date: 12 January 2010
A Tatar university professor says his contract was not extended due to his criticism of the republic's president, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has reported.
European University in St. Petersburg Resumes Classes
Alert Update
Date: 27 March 2008
A Russian court has allowed the European University in St. Petersburg to resume classes after a temporary suspension for alleged fire safety violations. The European University’s closure last month prompted widespread international criticism, with many observers claiming that the authorities might have used fire violations as a pretext to punish the university for its EU-sponsored election monitoring course.
European University in St. Petersburg Remains Closed
Action Alert
Date: 06 March 2008
On Friday 8 February 2008 the European University in St. Petersburg (EUSP) was closed down for violating fire-safety regulations. A court ordered that all academic work be stopped and classrooms be sealed for a minimum of 90 days. The ruling was upheld on 18 February, despite many of the hazards being removed.
European University in St. Petersburg Shut Down
Alert
Date: 13 February 2008
The Kremlin has been accused of mounting an unprecedented attack on academic freedom after one of Russia’s top universities was closed, The Guardian has said. Russian authorities have shut down the independent European University at St. Petersburg (EUSP) for apparently violating fire-safety regulations, in a move that opposition activists call politically motivated.
Indian Student Stabbed to Death
Alert
Date: 25 September 2006
Nitesh Kumar Singh a 27-year-old medical student of St Petersburg's Mechnikov Medical Academy was stabbed to death outside the hostel where he lived on 24 September 2006, BBC News informs. Police think the attack might have been racially motivated. Since 2002 attacks of foreign students have been increasing in the country (Please see related NEAR Alerts) and the situation has been a source of concern for several Human Rights Groups, NEAR Included.
Call for a Permanent Post for Professor Yury Bandazhevsky
Alert Update
Date: 15 May 2006
On 15 May 2006 The CRIIRAD (Commission de Recherche et d'Informations Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité) addressed a letter to the President of the French Republic requesting an emergency administrative procedure for the creation of a permanent post as « Professeur des Universités » to the benefit of Professor Youri Bandazhevsky.
Russian scientist Danilov, jailed for espionage, appeals to European Court
Alert
Date: 08 January 2006
Valentin Danilov, the Russian scientist sentenced to 14 years for espionage, has filed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. His lawyer stated: “We have turned to the European Court to protect Danilov’s rights. The claim concerns the violation of four provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Foreign Students targetted, attacked and killed by extremists
Alert
Date: 28 November 2005
A Spanish and two Peruvian students were attacked the third week of November 2005 in Voronezh, a city of about one million located 580 km south of Moscow. One of the students, Enrique Arturo Urtado, Peruvian, first year student at the Voronezh State Architecture and Civil Engineering University, died on way to hospital Inter Press Service reports.
Prisoner of Conscience Professor Yury Bandazhevsky is free
Alert Update
Date: 12 August 2005
“I would like to send a huge thank you to all Amnesty International members across the world whose support I could feel. The work of Amnesty International is very useful” - Yury Bandazhevsky, 10 August 2005 The eminent Belarusian academic, Professor Yury Bandazhevsky, was conditionally released from prison on 5 August, after serving four years of an eight year sentence.
Russian Researcher Faces 10 Year Prison Sentence
Alert Update
Date: 10 May 2005
Dr Oscar A. Kaibyshev’s, former director of the Institute for Metals Superplasticy Prbobelms (IMPS) case continues, if found guilty he faces a 10 year prison sentence. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has issued the following action alert: In February 2005, the Russian Security Forces (FSB) detained and interrogated Dr.
AAAS: "Release Russian Scientist Dr Kaibyshev"
Action Alert
Date: 02 March 2005
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has issued an action alert concerning the case of Dr Kaibyshev, Russian scientist accused of espionage and facing 10 years of imprisonment. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: In February 2005, the Russian Security Forces (known by their Russian acronym, FSB) detained and interrogated Dr.
Scientist, Charged With Divulging State Secrets, Faces 10 Years Imprisonment
Alert
Date: 22 February 2005
Russian authorities have charged a Russian scientist with divulging state secrets to a South Korean manufacturer of car wheels, sparking fears among rights activists that the move is part of a politically-motivated campaign by security forces. Professor Oscar A. Kaibyshev, 66, head of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for Metals Superplasticity Problems, faces 10 years in prison for illegally exporting technology and research to a subsidiary of South Koreas Hankook Tire Manufacturing Co.
"Government Campaign To Initimidate Scientists"
Action Alert
Date: 08 December 2004
The American Association of Advancement of Science (AAAS) has issued an action alert regarding the case of Russian physicist Dr. Valentin Danilov, who, in November 2004, was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum-security prison. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Dr. Danilov, former head of the Thermo-Physics Center at Krasnoyarsk State Technical University, was found guilty of espionage and embezzling funds earlier that month.
Russian Researcher Valentin Danilov Sentenced to 14 Years for Spying
Alert
Date: 25 November 2004
Russian physicist Valentin Danilov’s worst fears became real when a court in Siberia sentenced him to 14 for spying for China. The investigation found that Danilov passed the results of research conducted for the Russian Defence Ministry to officials of the All-China Import-Export Company Precision Engineering and the Lanzhou Institute of Physics in 1999.
Russian Researcher Jailed for Spying Expects 10 Years of Imprisonment
Alert Update
Date: 10 November 2004
Dr Valentin Danilov, formal head of the Thermo-Physics Centre at Krasnoyarsk State Technical University, has been found guilty, by a court of jury, of spying for China at a retrial of his case. The Judge sentence is expected on 10 November 2004, the Russian researcher could be facing 10 years of imprisonment.
Joint statement on the Beslan Hostage Tragedy
Alert
Date: 08 September 2004
A coalition of Russian and international human rights organizations (please see list at bottom of page) united today to condemn in the strongest terms the taking hostage and killing of hundreds of children, parents and teachers by a group of armed men and women in a school in the city of Beslan, North Ossetia, in the North Caucasus region of Russia.
Russian Researcher Dr. Igor Sutyagin's Appeal Rejected
Alert
Date: 20 August 2004
The Supreme Court upheld Igor Sutyagin's conviction to 15 years in prison on espionage charges in a case that human rights advocates called a miscarriage of justice and part of an Federal Security Service (FSB) campaign to intimidate academics. Sutyagin's lawyers said they would appeal to the presidium of the Supreme Court - the last possible avenue for appeal - and seek justice at the European Court of Human Rights.
Professor and human rights defender brutally killed in Russia
Alert
Date: 23 June 2004
Nikolai Girenko, Professor of Ethnology, expert on racism and discrimination in the Russian Federation and prominent human rights defender, was shot dead on 19 June 2004 in his home in St Petersburg. Nikolai Girenko was well-known and widely respected for his work and research on racism and discrimination in the Russian Federation.
Russian Researcher's Acquittal Overturned
Action Alert
Date: 10 June 2004
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has issued an alert concerning the overturning of the acquittal sentence of Dr Valentin Danilov by the Russian Supreme Court. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Dr. Danilov is the head of the Thermo-Physics Centre at Krasnoyarsk State Technical University.
Scientist Jailed for 15 Years for Spying
Action Alert
Date: 06 April 2004
On 5 April 2004, a Russian jury found Dr. Igor Sutyagin guilty of high treason and a judge sentenced him to 15 imprisonment. Dr. Sutyagin, a Russian researcher, was first arrested in October 1999 on charges of espionage related to research he conducted for a British consulting firm. As a civilian researcher, Dr.
Russian Researcher on Second Trial for Espionage
Action Alert
Date: 19 March 2004
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has informed that, after a series of delays, the second trial against Russian researcher Dr. Igor Sutyagin resumed on 15 March 2004. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Dr. Sutyagin was first arrested in October 1999 on espionage charges related to research he conducted for a British consulting firm.
Russian Researcher Acquitted of Espionage Charges
Alert Update
Date: 07 January 2004
On 29 December 2003, a jury acquitted Dr. Valentin Danilov of espionage charges. The Russian Security Service arrested Valentin Danilov, head of the Thermo-Physics Centre at Krasnoyarsk State Technical University, in February 2001 on charges of treason and fraud for allegedly selling top secret satellite information to a Chinese company.
Researcher’s Trial Postponed Indefinitely
Action Alert
Date: 07 January 2004
The trial of Russian researcher Dr. Igor Sutyagin has been indefinitely postponed. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has issued the following alert: Dr. Sutyagin has spent the last five years in jail: his first trial was held in 2001 at a regional court and resulted in a ruling that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence.
Foreign students at People's Friendship University (Moscow) victims of discrimination
Alert
Date: 22 December 2003
Amnesty International is concerned that the response of the emergency services to the recent fire at the Russian People's Friendship University in Moscow may have been hampered by racial prejudice. Amnesty International is urging the Russian government to take immediate measures to ensure the safety and well-being of all students at the university.
Dr. Sutyagin's Moscow Trial Begins
Action Alert
Date: 26 September 2003
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) issued the following alert and update on Russian researcher Dr. Igor Sutyagin who faces charges of treason and espionage connected to a research project he conducted for a British consulting firm in the late 1990s. On 25 September 2003, the Moscow City Court began hearings on the second trial of Dr.
Students in Russia Face Racial Discrimination
Alert
Date: 19 March 2003
"Putin has said that everyone should feel at home here, and that is of course welcome. But we want to feel safe, not at home." Petrus Indongo, General Secretary of the Association of African Students at the Moscow University of Peoples' Friendship. Amnesty International has issued a report 'Dokumenty!': Discrimination on grounds of race in the Russian Federation.
Supreme Court Orders New Probe Into Sutyagin’s Trial
Alert Update
Date: 03 October 2002
The Agence France Presse has issued news regarding the trial of researcher Dr. Igor Sutyagin. The Russia's Supreme Court ordered a new inquiry into the trial of a defence expert accused of espionage, in a move hailed as a potential breakthrough by Igor Sutyagin's attorneys. However, Sutyagin will remain in jail despite appeals by his lawyers.
Alert Update
Date: 02 October 2002
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has issued this alert update regarding the case of Valentin Danilov. On 27 September 2002, the pre-trial jail term of Russian physicist Dr. Valentin Danilov expired, and the regional Krasnoyarsk prison chose not to extend it. The Russian Security Service arrested Valentin Danilov, who is the head of the Thermo-Physics Centre at Krasnoyarsk State Technical University, in February 2001, on charges of treason and fraud for allegedly selling top secret satellite information to a Chinese company.
Russian Researcher’s Case Transferred
Action Alert
Date: 16 July 2002
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) issued the following action alert and update on Russian researcher Dr. Igor Sutyagin on the 16 July 2002. BACKGROUND: On 27 June 2002, Russian authorities transferred Dr. Igor Sutyagin, a researcher with the U.S. and Canada Institute in Moscow, to a Moscow prison.
Physicist Awaits Release on Bail
Action Alert
Date: 03 May 2002
On the 3 May 2002, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) ran an alert on the ongoing detention and legal proceedings against Russian physicist Valentin Danilov. There are fears for Danilov’s health and well-being. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: On 16 February 2001, the Russian Security Service (known by its Russian acronym FSB) arrested Valentin Danilov for allegedly selling top-secret satellite information to a Chinese company.