President Boris Yeltsin
g. Moskva, Kreml
Russian Federation

Your Excellency:

I am writing to express my concern for Aleksandr Nikitin, a retired naval captain who is currently facing up to 20 years in prison for publicizing the environmental consequences of accidents on Russian nuclear submarines.

In 1994, two years after retiring from the Russian navy, Aleksandr Nikitin was asked by the Bellona Foundation, a Norwegian environmental organization, to research and co-write a section of their report, The Russian Northern Fleet – Sources of Radioactive Contamination. Although the information used for this report came from previously published sources, in February 1996 he was accused of espionage, arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and charged with treason. He was released from detention in December 1996 pending trial.

It seems that the FSB is more concerned with putting Aleksandr Nikitin in prison than in giving him a fair, impartial trial and establishing the truth. It is my understanding that all the charges against him have been based on an unpublished, secret decree that was issued 7 months after his arrest. The investigation proceedings against him have been blatantly unfair, and all of the evidence indicates that his "crime" was nothing more than exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Aleksandr Nikitin now faces a 20-year-prison sentence – on grounds of which he is not fully aware – simply because he publicized known information about the environment. If he is convicted, I am very concerned that more arbitrary prosecutions of innocent people by the FSB could follow.

Please do all you can to ensure that this does not happen. Aleksandr Nikitin has committed no crime. I urge you to use the influence of your position to ensure that all criminal charges against him be dropped.

Respectfully yours,