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
A proposed $300 billion investment fund for Iran included in the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding may face serious legal obstacles under existing U.S. sanctions law, raising questions about whether one of the agreement’s central economic promises can realistically be carried out.
Six Naga Christian men taken hostage in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, including two pastors, were found dead on June 10, with their remains reportedly mutilated, deepening fears that the region’s long-running ethnic conflict is spiraling into another deadly cycle of revenge.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached an agreement with Israel’s ultra-Orthodox parties to advance key Haredi-backed legislation before the Knesset dissolves, clearing the way for a likely national election on October 20.
A Brazilian court has sentenced a mother and father to 50 days in prison for homeschooling their two daughters, a landmark ruling that has intensified concerns over parental rights, religious freedom, and the growing power of the state over family life.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has apologized for what he called the “heartless and dishonorable” treatment of thousands of Moluccan soldiers and their families who were brought to the Netherlands after Indonesia gained independence, seeking to heal a decades-old wound that strained relations between the Dutch government and the Moluccan community.
Iran’s judiciary announced that more than 3,000 citizens have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of cooperating with Israel, marking one of the regime’s broadest internal crackdowns since anti-government protests erupted earlier this year.
Latin America’s political right appeared to score another major victory Sunday as conservative political newcomer Abelardo de la Espriella, backed by President Donald Trump, declared victory in Colombia’s cliffhanger presidential runoff — a result that could mark a sharp rebuke of outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro and further signal the region’s growing turn toward law-and-order, market-oriented leadership.