News

Nikitin can immigrate to Canada

Publish date: October 20, 1997

Written by: Igor Kudrik

--Former Russian Navy officer Aleksandr Nikitin will be allowed to emmigrate to Canada after law enforcement bodies complete the investigation of the case, stated Prime Minister of Russia Victor Chernomyrdin at a press-conference together with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on Monday.

— As soon as the investigation is over, he won’t be kept here, underlined Victor Chernomyrdin.

— The Russian side did not object in principle against Nikitin’s emmigration to Canada. However, they declined to determine the date, stated Jean Chretien.

Aleksandr Nikitin was one of the co-authors of the report compiled by the Bellona Foundation on the nuclear and radioactive waste problems in the Russian Northern Fleet. Nikitin was arrested by Russian secret police in February 1996, and charged with high treason and devulging of state secrets because of his co-authorship. He was released from custody in December 1996, but has been held in city arrest in St. Petersburg since then. The charges against Nikitin remain in force.