Nuclear arms researcher Igor Sutyagin was arrested in 1999 accused of espionage by FSB, Russia’s security agency. FSB claimed he sold state secrets about Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet and strategic missiles to a British firm by FSB said to be a CIA cover.
After the trail, Sutyagin was sent to a prison in Arkhangelsk region where he spent many of the 11 years in prison.
In the case Sutyagin v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously rules that there had been a violation of Igor Sutyagin’s right to liberty and security and violations of his right to a fair trial. The ruling is published on the portal of the European Court of Human Rights.
Igor Sutyagin himself lives in London today, following release from the Arkhangelsk prison and the high-profiled spy swap with U.S, including Anna Chapman and nine other Russian agents arrested in the United States last year.
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With the ruling in Strasbourg, Sutyagin got great support in his claim that the spy-sentence was fabricated by FSB.
Interviewed by the Moscow Times, Igor Sutyagin says the ruling came much too late.
-It makes me very sad when I think of those colleagues who languish in prison after similar trails in my country, Sutyagin says.
Ruling on the Russian trial where Sutyagin was convicted the European Court writes: “…the trial court had lacked independence and impartiality.”
It is not clear if Russia will appeal the ruling in Strasbourg.
