July 18, 2020
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
President of the Russian Federation
Ul.Ilyinka, 23
103132 Moscow,
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 495 9102134
Twitter: @KremlinRussia
Dear President:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.
We write to express our concern over the recent charges of high treason against Dr. Valery Mitko because of his alleged passing on of state secrets, apparently regarding submarine detection technology, to Chinese authorities. He potentially will be imprisoned for 20 years.
Dr. Mitko is the president of the Arctic Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. Since February, Mitko has been under house arrest. We are concerned that our colleague Dr. Mitko is facing these charges even though his lectures and documents in China contained only academic and open-source information. His work is a normal part of his position as a guest lecturer at Dalian Maritime University in China for the past four years. These accusations appear to be an example of a recurring pattern of charges leveled against elderly Russian scientists without any legitimate explanation.
We write to urge you to ensure that he is treated fairly, considering his important work for ongoing exploration of the Arctic’s resources, his advanced age, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We will be closely following developments in this case.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
cc:
Ambassador Anatoly Antonov
Embassy of the Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 1 202 298 5700/Fax: 1 202 298 5735
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @mfa_russia