Alexander Kuranov - Т-инвариант / T-invariant

Alexander Kuranov

Alexander Kuranov
Date of incident: April 18, 2024
Type of violation: conviction for treason
Institution: JSC Research Enterprise of Hypersonic Systems (NIPGS), part of the Leninetz holding company. (NIPGS is currently liquidated).

SummaryOn April 18, 2024, the St. Petersburg City Court sentenced physicist Alexander Kuranov to seven years in a maximum security penal colony. 76-year-old Kuranov was found guilty of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code).
The trial was held behind closed doors, since the case is classified as “Top Secret,” Meduza reports.

Details: Kommersant writes: “The St. Petersburg City Court found Alexander Kuranov guilty of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and sentenced him to “below the minimum limit” – seven years in a maximum security penal colony, while fining him 100 thousand rubles. The former CEO and chief designer of the Scientific Research Enterprise of Hypersonic Systems (NIPGS) was detained almost three years ago by FSB officers and, by court order, placed in the capital’s Lefortovo pretrial detention center. He was later transferred to St. Petersburg. The hearings in the city court were held behind closed doors, since the case materials are classified “top secret.” In her Telegram channel, the head of the united press service of the city courts, Daria Lebedeva, emphasized that the entire trial of the scientist took place in just two hearings. “And here, just for a second, we have the first instance of the court of the subject, which means the cases are complex and voluminous,” she added. She also reported that the court applied Article 64 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for a more lenient punishment. From what Ms. Lebedeva said, one can conclude that the hearings were held in a special order – without examining evidence and questioning witnesses.

As Kommersant learned from sources close to the investigation, such a small for Art. Mr. Kuranov, who faced up to 20 years in prison (life imprisonment for treason was introduced after the defendant had committed the crime and could not be applied to him), secured a term under Article 275 of the Criminal Code by concluding a pre-trial cooperation agreement and testifying against 77-year-old Novosibirsk scientist Anatoly Maslov, whose case on charges of treason was being heard in parallel in another courtroom of the city court.”

Sources: Meduza, Kommersant.

18 April 2024

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