A Russian court today sentenced academic Valery Golubkin to 12 years in prison after finding him guilty of passing state secrets “to representatives of foreign organizations”.

Golubkin worked at the Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Aerodynamics of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

The court did not provide further details about the case.

Golubkin was arrested in 2020 on suspicion of delivering secret documents to one of the NATO countries. His lawyer said Golubkin denied the charges against him.

Several Russian scientists have been arrested and charged with high treason in recent years on suspicion of passing sensitive information to foreigners.

Kremlin critics claim the arrests are often the result of unfounded paranoia, which authorities deny.

A criminal case was launched earlier this month against one of three Russian hypersonic missile scientists who were arrested on suspicion of high treason.