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Russian Scientist Jailed To Stop Influencing Spy Trial


10 November 2004 -- A Russian court today jailed a scientist who is facing sentencing for spying for China.

The prosecutor's office in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk told Russian media that Valentin Danilov has been taken into custody "so that he cannot pressure the course of the continuing judicial proceedings."

Last week, a jury convicted Danilov of passing information to China, but left it to the judge to decide if this information represented a state secret. The judge is due soon to make a decision on the spying case, that could land Danilov in jail for 20 years.

Danilov's lawyer told the media that prosecutors demanded his arrest to stop him continuing his "criminal activity," citing a recent interview he gave to the "Los Angeles Times."

Danilov has repeatedly said information that he sold to a Chinese organization, which focused on the Russian space agency, was already in the public domain.

(Reuters/AFP/AP)

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