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Physicist convicted of espionage released from prison

Scientist was suspected of treason and the transfer of classified information to China

 A court in Krasnoyarsk has granted parole to physicist Valentin Danilov who had been convicted in 2004 for spying for China. He was initially acquitted by the jury, but then still imprisoned. Thus, the scientist will be released two years and three months ahead of schedule.

The Moskovsky Komsomolets daily recalls that the criminal case against Danilov was initiated in May 2000. The scientist was suspected of treason and the transfer of classified information to China. At the end of the trial in December 2003, the scientist was acquitted by the jury, but the RF Supreme Court declared the jury decision illegal. The scientist was again taken into custody on November 10, 2004. Two weeks later, the Krasnoyarsk Territorial Court sentenced the physicist to 14 years in prison on charges of treason and fraud. Later, the court mitigated the sentence reducing the term by one year.

The physicist was charged with the transfer of space technologies to Chinese colleagues from the Lanzhou Institute of Physics, the Kommersant daily recalls. In addition, according to the investigation, Valentin Danilov allegedly misappropriated of funds (466 thousand roubles), which the Chinese have transferred to Krasnoyarsk State Technical University (KSTU) for the research within the framework of an agreement on cooperation. In October 2003, the case of the physicist transferred to the Krasnoyarsk Territorial Court.

The scientist asked the RF president for pardon, but his request was turned down, the publication stresses. The formal reason for this decision was the fact that the scientists did not admit his guilt.