[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 85 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1225-E1226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PROTEST ON BEHALF OF ALEXANDR NIKITIN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 1998

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, next week, on Thursday, June 25, human rights 
activists and defenders of the environment plan to gather in front of 
the Russian Consulate in San Francisco to protest the continuing 
mistreatment of former Russian Navy Captain Alexandr Nikitin.
  Working with the Norwegian environmental group ``Bellona,'' Mr. 
Nikitin provided resource material for a report entitled ``The Russian 
Northern Fleet: sources of Radioactive Contamination,'' that exposed 
the Russian Navy's nuclear waste dumping in the White Sea and Kola 
Peninsula region. the report revealed, for instance, that fifty-two 
decommissioned nuclear submarines still containing nuclear fuel are 
rusting at the Murmansk dockside and that nuclear reactors from other 
decommissioned submarines were simply dumped into the Arctic Ocean.
  It would probably be too much to ask that the Russian government 
thank him for his efforts. Frankly, the Russian government is not the 
only government that has not looked kindly on environmental whistle 
blowers. However, most governments would not go to the lengths to which 
the Russian government has gone to punish Mr. Nikitin for his expose.
  On February 2, 1996, he was arrested and charged with ``revealing 
state secrets,'' a charge that could carry the death penalty if he were 
convicted. In October 1996, the Federal Security Service (FSB) declared 
the Bellona/Nikitin report ``forbidden literature.'' Nikitin was held 
in pretrial detention from February to December 1996. I would note that 
during this time his brother-in-law, who had served in the Russian 
Northern Fleet, died of radiation poisoning.
  Protests from human rights activists and defenders of the environment 
resulted in Nikitin's release from detention, but the charges were not 
dropped. The FSB attempted to have him indicted on the basis of 
unpublished ``secret decrees,'' a blatant violation of the Russian 
constitution. Even the Federal Prosecutor's office admitted that 
``mistakes were made'' and that the case ``contains no hint of 
espionage.'' The FSB had to back down, and after six earlier 
investigations, now claims to have a legitimate case to go to trial. 
One wonders how many chances the FSB gets.
  Meanwhile, Nikitin has been required to remain in St. Petersburg. His 
wife and daughter came to the United States last year to accept on his 
behalf the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for his 
environmental work. Their apartment is kept under surveillance, the 
phone has been tapped, and Nikitin's lawyer was recently approached by 
thugs on the street and told to ``stay away from this.''
  But the FSB has misjudged their man. Alexandr Nikitin and his family 
are standing up to the reactionary forces of the past. They do this not 
only for themselves, but for millions of Russians and millions of 
others on this planet who are endangered by ecological irresponsibility 
and indifference. if we care about human rights and the future of our 
planet, we should add our voices in support of Alexandr Nikitin's 
cause. The Russian government

[[Page E1226]]

woud be better served by honoring the efforts and integrity of citizens 
such as Alexandr Nikitin rather than trying to silence and punish him.

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