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“NIKITIN TRIAL TO PROCEED IN RUSSIA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H409-H410 on Feb. 3, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NIKITIN TRIAL TO PROCEED IN RUSSIA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge that the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske) is here to begin his hour presentation, I believe, and I want to thank him for his courtesy in allowing me to claim this five minutes. I am sure that he will join with me and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) and others with respect to the very important subject that we wish to devote just a few minutes to today.
Mr. Speaker, surely we can take some time at this particular juncture to devote attention, in this special order, to the difficulties that are now being experienced in what was the former Soviet Union, that is to say, in Russia.
The Supreme Court in a Supreme Court session in Russia is being held on the 4th of February with respect to the Alexander Nikitin case. The case, Mr. Speaker, is important not only to Captain Nikitin and those who are interested in addressing issues of freedom in Russia, but it has profound consequences for all of us on the planet.
Captain Nikitin has been the leading exponent of making clear what is happening with nuclear deterioration with the submarine fleet in the former Soviet Union. The degradation that is taking place in the environment there is something of concern, not only to the Russian people, but to all of us throughout the world. He is now being tried as a result of trying to bring this information forward in a more clear sense than it has been available before.
I want to indicate for those Members and those who may become aware of the special orders today throughout the Nation that they can contact the Bellona Foundation, B-E-L-L-O-N-A, at P.O. Box 11835 in Washington D.C., 20008, and contact the Bellona Foundation if you want to aid and assist Captain Nikitin in Russia, if you want to become more aware of what is taking place with the deterioration of the nuclear submarines in the former Soviet Union.
The Supreme Court is going to hear the appeal, as I indicated, on Thursday, February 4. I expect a verdict will be there the same day.
For those of you who are not familiar with the case and the circumstances, let me give you a little background very quickly. The Council for Criminal Cases in the Supreme Court in Russia takes many former Soviet dissidents back to the times of the KGB. They have a special department there supervised by the KGB. They used to have one responsible for handling crimes against the state.
I want it understood what is being said in Russia today is to express opinions and to discuss information that is otherwise available publicly, in public, in Russia today, is seen as a point of subversion and treason. That is what Captain Nikitin is being tried for.
So what we are asking, Mr. Speaker, is that the Department of State pay particular interest and approach their counterparts in Moscow to indicate that the United States is very, very concerned about this situation, that we are watching it, that they are not going to be able to do this behind closed doors and get away with it. They are not used to public hearings in Russia and they are scared to go public on this.
It is very, very important that Captain Nikitin's case be recognized by our Department of State as something that Members of this Congress are very, very concerned about, and I call on other Members to acquaint themselves with the circumstances.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) is well aware of it, as I said. He is unable to be with us today to discuss the situation further. But I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, and I assure the other Members, this is not the last time that I will be on this floor, nor that individuals like the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) will be here.
Let me conclude by indicating to that on a recent Congressional delegation trip to Russia, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) as the ranking Democrat on the Committee on Armed Services led a delegation of individuals from the Congress there, and we met with Captain Nikitin.
We can provide you information, Mr. Speaker, on the case in more detail, but we just want to alert you and alert the State Department today that we expect to have this case front and center in the consciences of everyone who is concerned about the environmental degradation taking place in Russia today as a result of the deterioration of the nuclear submarines that are presently being mothballed.
Mr. Speaker, I insert the following for the Record:
Dr. Caraway: As you know the Supreme Court will hear the Nikitin appeal on Thursday. The verdict should be announced the same day. We will see then.
Unfortunately, the hearing will take place behind closed doors, somewhat incomprehensible given that the hearing is not about the secrecy question, but about procedural issues.
Yours,
Thomas Jandl,
Director, Bellona USA.
nikitin supreme court session behind closed doors
The Supreme Court session in the Nikitin case on 4 February will be held behind closed doors. The presiding judge, a member of an officially abolished department within the Supreme Court Council for the Criminal Cases, made the decision in fear that state secrets might be released.
The Nikitin case will be tried by the Council for the Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court. Many former Soviet dissidents associate this particular council with the dark times of KGB rule back in the Soviet past. The Council used to have a special department supervised by the KGB and responsible for the handling of crimes against the state. The special department was officially abolished as the `wind of democracy' swept across the former Soviet Union, but its membership remained intact.
``The judges in the Council have been sitting there for as long as I can recall,'' says Yury Schmidt, defender of Aleksandr Nikitin and former Soviet dissident. ``They are not used to open hearings, they are scared to go public,'' adds Schmidt.
The court will not consider the merits of the case, but rather evaluate the legality of the 29 October 1998 St. Petersburg City Court ruling to send the case back for further investigation.
No legal grounds to have closed session.
``The only legal reference they can find to justify the closed door hearings is the fact that the case formally deals with so-called state secrets,'' says Yury Schmidt. ``But the court's task is not to go to the substance of the case, but rather evaluate the legal side of it. What secrets could this constitute,'' asks Schmidt rhetorically. According to Schmidt, there were quite solid grounds to have the court session behind closed doors in the St. Petersburg City Court as the court was examining the alleged secret material. A substantial part remained open to the public.
``To have the Supreme Court session closed can either be explained by the pressure from the FSB (successor to the KGB) or by the initiative of a KGB-trained judge'', says Schmidt. the judge's decision
When approached for comments Supreme Court press spokesman Nikolay Gastello said the decision was taken by the presiding judge, Magomed A. Karimov. Gastello could neither comment on the motives of the judge nor say if the judge would change his mind.
``It was not an unexpected decision,'' says Aleksandr Nikitin, who arrived in Moscow today. ``The FSB is there and does whatever it can to win the case.''
the nikitin case
Aleksandr Nikitin is charged with espionage and disclosure of state secrets while working for the Bellona Foundation. He was arrested by the FSB on 6 February 1996, after writing two chapters of a Bellona report on the risks of radioactive pollution from Russia's Northern Fleet. Jailed for 10 months following his arrest, Nikitin has since been restricted to the city limits of St. Petersburg. His case was then tried in St. Petersburg City Court between October 20 and 29, 1998. The St. Petersburg judge's decision to return the case to further investigation was appealed by both the prosecutor and the defence. Their respective appeals are to be heard in the Supreme Court on 4 February 1999.
Contacts in Moscow: Frederic Hauge and Thomas Nilsen.
Contacts in Oslo: Bellona Main Office.
Contacts in Washington: Thomas Jandl.
More info: http://www.bellona.no/e/russia/nikitin/mailto:[email protected]
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