Russian court sentences physicist Alexander Shiplyuk to 15 years in prison on charges of treason in one of several cases against experts in the field of science that is at the heart of the Russian program to develop hypersonic missiles, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Shipluk, a 57-year-old director of a leading Siberian scientific institute, was arrested in August 2022. Two of his colleagues – Anatoly Maslov and Valery Zvegintsev were also detained on suspicion of treason. In May, 78-year-old Maslov was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Shiplyuk's lawyer did not immediately respond to a Reuters inquiry about whether the scientist intended to appeal the verdict, which Russian news agencies reported.
The trial against him was held behind closed doors, as is customary in treason trials in Russia, notes Reuters.
Commenting on the case of Shipluk and his colleagues in May last year, the Kremlin said the men faced "very serious charges", adding that the matter was within the competence of the security services.
Russia proclaims itself to be the world leader in the field of hypersonic missiles – advanced weapons that can carry payloads at speeds up to 10 times the speed of sound (1,235 km/h) and penetrate air defense systems.
The trio from the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics "Hristijanovic" (ITAM) at the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the city of Novosibirsk is among more than 10 scientists researching such technologies, against whom Russia has filed treason charges in the past few years.
In May of last year, two people familiar with Shipluk's case told Reuters that the ITAM director was suspected of passing classified material to a scientific conference in China in 2017. According to the sources, Shipluk maintains his innocence and insists , that the information in question has not been classified and is freely available online.
According to state media, several other Russian scientists arrested on treason charges are also accused of passing secrets to Beijing.
The Institute of Shiplyuk, which is located in the scientific campus "Akademgorodok" near Novosibirsk, states on its website that it is registered as part of the Russian military-industrial complex.
Two American scientists who knew Maslov and Shipluk told Reuters last year that the arrested Russians were involved in one element of the work needed to create a hypersonic missile – a process that also includes the integration of sensors, navigation systems and engines.