Russian Scientist Jailed Over Publishing of Secrets Is Freed

A scientist being prosecuted for publishing an article about a top-secret Russian chemical-weapons program has been released from jail, raising hopes that the charges against the whistle-blower may be dropped.

“The general prosecutor’s decision to free me was based on the fact that the accusation against me was completely falsified,” chemist Vil S. Mirzayanov told reporters Wednesday, after his release from Matrosskaya prison late Tuesday night.

If prosecutors agree to drop the case, that will end a highly politicized trial that has embarrassed the administration of Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin and raised questions about Moscow’s commitment to human rights and chemical disarmament.

Mirzayanov was arrested in October, 1992, and charged with divulging state secrets after he published an article detailing Russia’s development of a potent new generation of binary chemical weapons. He was released after 12 days but was arrested again last month after refusing to appear for a trial he considers an unconstitutional farce.

Mirzayanov said he will ask the Red Cross to visit the prison, where he says inmates are being held in overcrowded cells without sufficient food or fresh air.

Mirzayanov’s release follows loud protests by human rights activists and U.S. diplomats; embarrassing courtroom scenes reminiscent of the way the Soviet Union treated its dissidents, and a threat by a fellow scientist to reveal more state secrets unless Mirzayanov was freed.