Petersburg scientist Valery Mitko, who was accused of high treason, has died. This was reported by the human rights project "First Department", whose lawyers defended Mitko.
“Today, at the age of 81, our client Valery Mitko, the president of the Arctic Academy of Sciences, one of the country’s leading experts in hydroacoustics, died,” the report says. It is noted that recently the scientist was increasingly called an ambulance and sent to the hospital, "he was unable to walk or sit, much less take care of his wife – a bedridden patient."
Mitko was charged with treason. He was detained and placed under house arrest in February 2020.
According to investigators, Mitko handed over materials containing state secrets to the Chinese special services during his trip to the country. According to the FSB, Chinese agents asked Mitko to collect data on the methods and methods of detecting submarines, and he agreed to do this for a monetary reward.
The lawyer said that this was a document that was found in the scientist's luggage when flying to China. He did touch on the characteristics of various submarines, but Mitko claims he took this data from open sources to use during lectures.
Valery Mitko – was a captain of the 1st rank of the reserve. From 1963 to 1994 he served on ships, submarines, and in the institutions of the Navy. He served as President of the St. Petersburg Arctic Public Academy of Sciences.
From 2016 until his arrest, Mitko taught at the Dalian Maritime University in China as a visiting professor. He went to China twice a year to give lectures.
Mitko died without waiting for the trial on the merits – it was supposed to begin in the winter of 2022.