All evidence and charges that the FSB (formerly the KGB) compiled for the fabricated espionage case against environmentalist Alexander Nikitin were thrown out by Judge Sergei Golets after only three hours of deliberation last Friday morning. "Although this should be considered to be a total defeat for the FSB, the procurator general, and the prosecutors, it is not a complete victory for Nikitin as he faces double jeopardy because the judge sent the case back for further investigation and possibly a second trial, under the Russian legal system, and continued restraining Nikitin from leaving St. Petersburg," stated The Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ) national director Micah Naftalin.

UCSJ has been active in this case since February 1996 in defense of human rights in a grass-roots effort. "That security officials can so brazenly flout fundamental human rights and pursue their campaign of intimidation against innocent citizens has not only given the international human rights community cause for concern over Russia's political future but particularly for the Jewish community who are confronting rising antisemitism and fascism," proclaimed UCSJ President Yosef I. Abramowitz.

In the first post-Soviet political trial, Alexander Nikitin faced a twenty-year prison term on charges of espionage and divulging state secrets, which stem from his work for the Norwegian Bellona Foundation on a report exposing nuclear contamination caused by Russia's Northern Fleet. The trial started on October 20 in St. Petersburg after the FSB had investigated the case for nearly three years. Nikitin has always asserted his innocence, since all information used in the report had been taken from open sources.

The FSB can continue to search for incriminating evidence to bring to the courts. Over the past three years, twice the Procuracy General in Moscow ordered the FSB to conduct the investigation against Nikitin in accordance with the law. Both times, however, the FSB ignored the order, and "there is no guarantee that the FSB will adhere to rule of law this time as the judge sends the case back for further investigation," Naftalin commented. "As long as the Russian system is based on a presumption of guilt, not innocence, it will become a 'vicious circle'," Naftalin continued.

UCSJ calls upon President Boris Yeltsin to order that this case be dropped and to allow Nikitin to return to a life without harassment and fear. "We applaud Judge Golets for overturning for the first time in history, the evidence from the FSB in an espionage case. However, UCSJ is gravely concerned over the possible turn of events that could happen if this case goes back to further bogus investigations and trial," Naftalin concluded.

As well as contact with the family, UCSJ continues to work closely with other human rights and environmental organizations including Sierra Club and the Bellona Foundation in a grass-roots campaign to ensure that Alexander Nikitin is treated fairly by the Russian government and keeping the public aware of the blatant lack of rule of law currently in the Russian Federation in respect to this case.

Click here for a detailed summary of the Nikitin case, contact the UCSJ national office at ucsj@ucsj.com or 202 775 9770 x16. For the latest news on Jews, antisemitism, and human rights in the former Soviet Union, visit our website homepage.

*More updates on the Nikitin trial
*More on Russia
*Bellona Website Nikitin Updates

[HOME] [ACT] [CONNECT] [JOIN] [ABOUT] [SEARCH]