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
The Senate on Friday blocked a measure to extend a major U.S. surveillance authority, as Democrats and a handful of Republicans objected to advancing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702 powers amid growing concern over President Donald Trump’s decision to name William Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.
The U.S. labor market remained stronger than expected in May, as employers added 172,000 jobs and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Iran fired a volley of missiles toward northern Israel on Sunday night, pushing the region back toward the brink of open war after Tehran made good on its warning that an Israeli strike in Beirut would bring Iranian retaliation.
The Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah command centers in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district on Sunday, escalating Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed terrorist group after renewed fire from Lebanon toward Israeli territory.
Armenians voted Sunday in a closely watched parliamentary election that could determine whether the South Caucasus nation continues its gradual shift toward the European Union or restores closer ties with traditional ally Russia, which has warned of serious consequences should Armenia continue its westward course.
Slovenia entered a new political era this weekend after parliament approved a center-right government led by pro-Israel Prime Minister Janez Jansa, a move expected to reverse several Middle East policies adopted by the previous administration.
A community police officer in northern England has won a settlement after his suspension for questioning Islam in a case that underscored broader concerns about workplace pressure on devout Christians, his defense team told Worthy News.