vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #156 / Special reports / Reading article...

A naval officer who writes for a military newspaper in Primorye is attracting international attention after local officials announced he will be tried in a criminal court for allegedly passing secret documents to Japan.

If found guilty, Capt. Grigory Pasko could face up to twenty years in prison.

The krai branch of the Federal Security Bureau seized papers from Pasko at the Vladivostok airport before he left for Japan on Nov. 23. The FSB arrested Pasko when he returned, and charged him with high treason Nov. 28.

Pasko, who writes about radioactive waste disposal for the military newspaper “Boyevaya Vakhta” (Military Vigil) claims he was visiting Japan to inspect cemeteries for Russian sailors there.

He also said that all documents were obtained through legal channels.

The nature of Pasko’s documents has become a crucial arguing point to both prosecutors and the defense. Defense lawyer Oleg Kotlyarov said independent experts must analyze the papers to determine whether they are confidential or not, and the FSB refuses to discuss the nature of the documents at all.

Japanese consul to Vladivostok Tetsuya Hirose refused to comment on the Pasko’s case, saying only that it “has nothing to do with Japan.”

As information of Pasko’s arrest spreads through the mass media, it is stirring international concern as well: Environmental organization Greenpeace claims his papers cannot be kept secret according to laws in Russia’s legislation.

If Pasko was actually trying to pass along documents revealing potential ecological disaster in the region, Greenpeace will “use maximum strength to free [him],” Greenpeace representative in Moscow Oganes Tergulyan said.

Tergulyan said Pasko’s situation is similar to the case of Fleet officer Alexander Nikitin, who was charged with high treason two years ago after giving Norway allegedly sensitive documents about possible radioactive threats to the area from Russian atomic icebreaker ships.

FSB General and Presidential Representative to Primorye Victor Kondratov countered that Pasko’s arrest was not related to ecological questions, but simply that his papers are top secret.

Kondratov’s position hampers Pasko’s defense, as it limits the extent to which defense lawyers can accuse FSB officials of suppressing press organs, said Vladimir Spiridonov, a fellow journalist at Boyevaya Vakhta.

Still, the defense continues to argue that the FSB has repeatedly broken laws in the investigation process. “The accusation of guilt is based not on proven data, but suppositions,” Kotlyarov said.

“Pasko’s documents were not secret at the time of the arrest. If I hadn’t signed an agreement against divulging information about the investigation, I would take it apart brick by brick in a press conference.”