Moscow, 25 June 2002 (RFE/RL) -- Russia's Supreme Court today upheld the prison sentence for military journalist Grigorii Pasko, who was convicted of espionage. Pasko was given a four-year sentence last December for collecting classified information on navy maneuvers with the aim of passing it on to Japanese media. The court also rejected prosecutors' appeal to toughen Pasko's sentence.
Environmental protection and human rights groups say the conviction was a "political reprisal" for a 1993 expose Pasko wrote accusing the Russian Navy of dumping nuclear waste in the Pacific.
Environmental protection and human rights groups say the conviction was a "political reprisal" for a 1993 expose Pasko wrote accusing the Russian Navy of dumping nuclear waste in the Pacific.