On September 3, 2024, the Moscow City Court convicted and sentenced Alexander Shiplyuk, a hypersonic research scientist and director of the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITAM) at the Siberian branch, to 15 years in prison on treason charges.
Russian authorities arrested Shiplyuk in 2022 for allegedly disclosing classified information regarding experimental aerothermodynamics in hypersonic aircrafts during a 2017 conference in China. At the time of his arrest, Shiplyuk was involved in research needed to build a hypersonic missile; research undertaken in response to President Vladimir Putin’s 2018 call for scientists to develop a new generation of weapons. Shiplyuk has denied the treason charges, stating that the information he is accused of sharing is publicly available online. Prior to his trial, he was held in Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison, a prison known for its isolation tactics.
On September 3, the court found Shiplyuk guilty and sentenced him to 15-years in a maximum-security prison during the closed-door trial. The court also fined him 500,000 rubles (approximately $5,700 USD) and sentenced him to an additional 1.5 years of restricted freedom following the completion of his prison sentence.
Two of Shiplyuk’s colleagues were convicted for similar allegations earlier in 2024. One colleague sentenced to 7 years in prison in April after taking a plea deal, and the other was sentenced to 14 years in prison in May.
According to BBC News Russia, Russian authorities have arrested or jailed at least eleven Russian scientists working on hypersonic flight on charges of high treason since 2018.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arbitrary conviction and sentencing of a scholar in apparent retaliation for work within their academic freedom, and nonviolent exercise of the rights to freedom of expression—conduct that is expressly protected under international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Russia is a party. State authorities must respect academic freedom and nonviolent expressive conduct and refrain from actions intended to punish, restrict, or deter such conduct.
Sources:
https://www.businessupturn.com/asia/northern-asia/russia/russian-physicist-sentenced-to-15-years-for-treason-amidst-crackdown-on-scientists/35496/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/3/moscow-jails-missile-scientist-for-treason
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-court-sentences-hypersonic-scientist-15-years-jail-interfax-says-2024-09-03/
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/09/03/russian-hypersonic-flight-scientist-jailed-15-years-for-treason-a86238