Valentin Danilov (russian: Валентин Данилов, born 1948) is a Russian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, whose research deals with the effect of solar activity on space

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

s. In November 2004, he was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. Many scientists and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

organizations, both in Russia and worldwide protested the sentence because the information he passed to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

was, in fact, declassified in 1992. Danilov was head of the Thermo-Physics Centre at

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

State Technical University (KTSU). In 1999, he has signed a contract between the KSTU and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. KSTU was supposed to make a test bench used to emulate effect of space on man-made satellites In February 2001, Danilov was arrested by FSB, accused of treason, but released on bail October 2, 2002. He was acquitted by a jury of all charges on December 29, 2003. June 9, 2004 - the Supreme Court of Russia overturned Danilov's acquittal of treason. In November 2004, another jury convicted Danilov of

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

. He was subsequently sentenced to 14 years in jail for treason. According to

organizations, his sentence was unjustified, because Danilov provided documents to the court showing that all the "secret information" has been in fact declassified. According to a statement by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, "as in the case of

Igor Sutyagin Igor Vyacheslavovich Sutyagin (russian: И́горь Вячесла́вович Сутя́гин; born 17 January 1965) is a Russian arms control and nuclear weapons specialist. In 1998, he became the head of the subdivision for Military-Technical ...

, his first trial ended in

acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

; the court concluded that the prosecution had not established violations of the law by Valentin Danilov. In June 2004, the

Supreme Court of Russia The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (russian: links=no, Верховный суд Российской Федерации, Verkhovny sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in ...

quashed the verdict of acquittal; following a second, closed trial, Valentin Danilov was convicted of

(Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code) and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment in November 2004." Danilov was released on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

in Krasnoyarsk in November 2012. He said he would like to continue his scientific career in Novosibirsk. In 2020, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

held that there had been a violation of the right to a fair trial with respect to Danilov.State-secrets treason trial lacked impartiality
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References

External links

Statement by AAASLetters in support of Danilov
by

Committee on Human Rights of Scientists The Committee on Human Rights of Scientists of the New York Academy of Sciences "was formed in 1978 to pursue the advancement of the basic human rights of scientists throughout the world. The Committee intervenes in cases where scientists, engineers ...

Russian Federation: Concerns about scientists, journalists and lawyers
by

, 19 January 2007
Press-Conference on Physicist Valentin Danilov’s Trial

-> {{DEFAULTSORT:Danilov, Valentin Russian physicists Russian academics 1951 births Living people Russian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Russia People convicted of spying for the People's Republic of China European Court of Human Rights cases involving Russia People convicted of treason against Russia

See also

References

External links