War in Ukraine: Russia jails scientists responsible for making weapons and charges them with ‘high treason’

Russian scientists have denounced in an open letter the persecution of their colleagues after the arrest of a fourth researcher in the last year for high treason in a field indirectly related to the manufacture of weapons.

“In this situation we fear not only for the fate of our colleagues. Simply we do not know how to continue to do our work“, notes the letter from scientists of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.

The last prisoner is Valery Zveguintsev, scientist at the aforementioned institute, which is attached to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Zvéguintsev, who was arrested in April and is under house arrest, wrote in the Iranian press an article on gas dynamics.

This was the reason for his arrest, although, as reported by his colleagues at the Tass agency, he was subjected to two searches looking for possible state secrets.

“We see it any article or report may be grounds for a charge of high treason. What we are rewarded for today and set an example for, tomorrow becomes a cause for criminal prosecution. In this situation (…) it is simply impossible to work”, says the letter reproduced by the Taigá portal.

In their letter they recall that the arrest of the head of the institute, Alexander Shiplyukov, from his colleague, Anatoly Maslovand Institute of Laser Physics researcher, Dmitry Kolkerdied a few days after his arrest, since then He was suffering from terminal stage cancer.

The scientists are urging the authorities, the scientific community and the Russians to do so Defend your colleagues from arbitrariness.

“The absence of publications and participation in conferences not only presupposes the failure of the state mission of the organization, but also the reason for the drastic decline in the level of research,” they say.

The persecution launched by the security forces among the Russian scientific community a prevent the leak of state secrets intensified with the presentation of the new russian hypersonic weapons in 2018, but skyrocketed with the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022

One of the stars of that hypersonic weaponry is the Kinzhal missile, which Russia launched against Kiev on Monday night. However, new Western-supplied Ukrainian air defenses managed to shoot them down. At least six of these missiles have been shot down.

What does the Kremlin say?

The Kremlin assured on Wednesday that charges were brought against three arrested Siberian scientists for high treason are “very serious” and admitted to receiving an open letter from his colleagues denouncing the persecution of the scientific community.

“The Russian secret services operate, they play their role. The allegations are very serious. Of course, a person can only be found guilty by court decision,” Dmitri Peskov, the presidential spokesman, said in his daily telephone briefing.

Peskov confirmed that he received the letter from scientists at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.

“We saw the letter. I don’t think the Kremlin can react in any way. Of course, in the middle of the investigation we can’t talk about taking sides“, commented.

EFE extension

ap