Another scandalous “case of a scientist” accused of espionage has ended. Physicist Valentin Danilov, sentenced in 2004 to 14 years (then his sentence was reduced by a year) for allegedly spying for China, will be released from a maximum security colony on parole. This will happen in ten days, when the decision of the Sovetsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk comes into force. Thus, Danilov will be released more than three years ahead of schedule.
The former head of the Thermophysics Center in Krasnoyarsk was accused of constructing a stand for simulating the impact of outer space on artificial Earth satellites, commissioned by the All-China Export-Import Precision Engineering Company. The essence of the accusation was that Danilov told China facts related to state secrets. Moreover, the secrecy stamp on these inventions of Danilov was removed eight years before the trial. However, Krasnoyarsk State Technical University, on behalf of which Danilov entered into a contract with a Chinese company, also accused him of embezzlement of 466 thousand rubles. The investigation alleged that from 1999 to 2000, Danilov fraudulently stole public money intended for the execution of the contract.