Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

An independent non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

Scientist Arrested for High Treason for Unclassified Work When Project Was Done

December 27, 2020

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
President of the Russian Federation
Ul. Ilyinka, 23
103132 Moscow,
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 495 9102134
Twitter: @KremlinRussia

Dear President Putin:

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 arrest of scientist Anatoly Gubanov – a defendant in a case of high treason for allegedly passing along secret data on hypersonic flight to foreign actors.

Anatoly Gubanov was arrested in December 2020. The Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court has ruled that he be detained until February 2, 2021 on charges that could lead to a prison term of up to 20 years. It would appear that he is being targeted for working on an international collaboration for a civil hypersonic airliner.

Gubanov is a respected scientist at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI). He teaches at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT). His father-in-law was the leading Soviet aviation designer Leonid Shkadov.

We are concerned that our colleague, Anatoly Gubanov, is part of a recurring pattern of prosecuting Russian scientists whose work on unclassified civilian projects may overlap with military applications.

We write to urge you to ensure that he is treated fairly, that he is provided with adequate medical treatment, and regular access to family and independent legal representation. We further urge that whatever legal proceedings are held in his case meet international standards for fair trials. If he was, in fact, engaging in a collaboration using data that was unclassified at the time, he must be released immediately and unconditionally.

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 Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 1 202 298 5700 I Fax: 1 202 298 5735
Email: rusembusa@mid.ru
Twitter: @mfa_russia

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

Committee of Concerned Scientists
Public Affairs and Administrative Office
PO Box 3708
Silver Spring, MD 20918

Carol Valoris, Executive Director
(202) 812-8074
carolvaloris@concernedscientists.org