By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – A prominent Russian physicist began serving a lengthy prison sentence as part of a more extensive crackdown on scientists allegedly aiding Ukraine and threatening Russia’s security.
Worthy News learned that in a trial reminiscent of the Soviet era, the Moscow city court found Alexander Shiplyuk, the 57-year-old director of a top Siberian science institute, guilty of “state treason” after a trial held behind closed doors.
He was sentenced to 15 years on “treason” charges in the latest prison term for a scientist working on the country’s hypersonic missile program.
Well-informed sources said Thursday that over a dozen senior Russian scientists have been detained in recent years.
At least three, including Shiplyuk, worked at the prestigious Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk, Siberia’s largest city and a central scientific.
Experts have said the trials indicate a modern “spy mania” and growing paranoia among Russian political elites regarding its military production following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
CLASSIFIED INFO
The Russian independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta reported that Shiplyuk was suspected of sharing classified information at a scientific conference in China in 2017.
Shiplyuk denied the allegations, saying the information he presented was publicly available in open sources.
In May, Russia sentenced Anatoly Maslov, a 78-year-old professor of aerodynamics at the same institute and a colleague of Shiplyuk, to 14 years in prison on treason charges.
Russian media said he was accused of passing classified data related to Russia’s hypersonic missile program to German intelligence.
This was embarrassing for Russia, which has promoted itself as a world leader in hypersonic missiles, cutting-edge weapons capable of carrying payloads at up to 10 times the speed of sound to punch through air defense systems.
“Russia’s loose definition of espionage makes it easy to bring cases against scientists,” observed journalist Pjotr Sauer in The Guardian newspaper.
INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
Accusations include “their participation in international projects, even those initiated long before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” he added.
There have already been instances of scientists dying in pre-trial detention.
In October 2022, Valery Mitko, an 81-year-old Russian scientist arrested on high treason charges, died while under house arrest after several heart attacks.
Last year, Dmitry Kolker, 54, the director of the Laboratory of Quantum Optics at Novosibirsk State University, who was being held in a spy investigation, died two days after his arrest while being treated in a hospital for stage 4 cancer.
More deaths behind bars are expected as the lengthy sentences mean the accused experts could spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to arrive in Israel on Wednesday for his first official visit to the Jewish state since taking office, as Washington and Jerusalem coordinate amid a rapidly escalating confrontation with Iran and growing Israeli concern over a possible U.S. sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey.
The United States launched a new wave of military strikes against Iran on Tuesday after three commercial tankers were struck by projectiles in or near the Strait of Hormuz, sharply escalating pressure on Tehran and placing an already fragile ceasefire under one of its most serious tests.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired missiles at commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, escalating tensions just hours after massive funeral processions for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei featured chants of “Death to Trump” and “Death to Bibi.”
Prosecutors began presenting evidence Monday against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a campus event at Utah Valley University, as the state seeks to move the case toward a murder trial and possible death penalty sentence.
A Paris appeals court on Tuesday cleared a path for Marine Le Pen to potentially run in France’s 2027 presidential election, while upholding her conviction for misusing European Parliament funds and requiring her to serve one year under electronic monitoring.
China’s test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile across the Pacific has drawn condemnation from the United States and several Indo-Pacific governments, intensifying concerns over Beijing’s expanding military reach and lack of transparency.
NATO allies unveiled a sweeping package of new arms agreements Tuesday as President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara for a two-day summit expected to focus heavily on defense spending, burden-sharing, and the alliance’s continued support for Ukraine.