Russia jails hypersonic expert Valery Golubkin for ‘leaking secrets’

Moscow — A Russian court said on Monday it had sentenced physicist Valery Golubkin to 12 years in jail for treason after convicting him of handing over state secrets to “representatives of foreign organisations”.

Golubkin had worked in the department of theoretical and applied aeromechanics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. He taught a course on high-speed aerodynamics and specialised in hypersonic aircraft.

The court provided no further details on the case.

Golubkin was detained in late 2020 on suspicion of handing over secrets to an unnamed Nato country. During his trial, he denied the charges against him and his lawyer said any documents he shared were cleared, according to reports.

Golubkin’s colleague, associate Prof Anatoly Gubanov, 63, was also detained in December 2020 by the FSB counterintelligence service in Moscow on suspicion of treason for handing over documents to the West. His lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, said both men had taken part in an internationally funded study on hypersonic civil aeroplanes.

A number of Russian scientists have been arrested and charged with treason in recent years on suspicion of passing sensitive material to foreigners. Golubkin said the arrests had resulted in a brain drain of scientists leaving Russia, reports said.

Critics of the Kremlin said the arrests sometimes stem from unfounded paranoia, something the authorities deny. With Staff Writer

Reuters