News

Court Denies Declassification of Information on Accidents Aboard Soviet Nuclear Submarines

Publish date: February 16, 2005

Today the Presnya District Court in Moscow denied the approval of a complaint by Bellona. The complaint was submitted after the refusal by the Russian Ministry of Defense to declassify information about accidents that had taken place on Soviet nuclear submarines.

Bellona has not yet received the full decision of the court establishing the court’s position. As soon as the full document is obtained, Bellona will seek an appeal to the decision in a higher court.

“So far we see no legal basis for today’s court decision,” stated Bellona’s defense lawyer, Ivan Pavlov.

In accordance to Article 7 of the law “On state secrets,” information is not to be made classified regarding emergencies and catastrophes threatening the security and health of citizens or their consequences, regarding natural disasters, their official prognosis and effects, or regarding the condition of the environment.