News
Publish date: September 8, 1999
Written by: Jon Gauslaa
News
The European Council’s Rapporteur on the Nikitin case, Mr. Erik Jurgens, requests in a recent letter the Russian Supreme Court to handle the Nikitin case in first instance.
Last year, a similar request was turned down, on the ground that a first instance Supreme Court hearing would deprive the defendant from his right to appeal a possible conviction. The reason for turning down that request has, however, been removed, Mr. Jurgens points out. Russian legislation has been changed so that also a person convicted by the Supreme Court in first instance has the right to appeal the verdict.
Mr. Jurgens fears that the case may have entered a "vicious circle" where it will be sent back and forth between courts and investigators for years. He also points to the great public importance of the case as a test for the rule of law in Russia, and intends to bring up the case in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe shortly.
The files of the Nikitin case were, in accordance with normal procedure, transferred from the St. Petersburg Prosecutor’s Office to the City Court on September 6, but the decision on which Court that should handle the case in first instance is yet to be taken.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.