Russian Physicist Found Guilty of Treason in Hypersonic Weapons Case

A Russian court convicted physicist Alexander Shiplyuk of treason for allegedly sharing hypersonic weapons technology with foreign officials. Shiplyuk, who led a Siberian mechanics institute, received a 15-year prison sentence. This conviction is part of a broader crackdown on scientists within Russia's military-industrial complex.

A Russian court has convicted physicist Alexander Shiplyuk of treason for allegedly passing information on hypersonic weapons technology to foreign officials, as reported by Al Jazeera. Shiplyuk was sentenced to 15 years in a prison colony following a closed-door trial in Moscow.

Shiplyuk, who managed the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk, was also fined 500,000 rubles (USD 5,650) and given an additional 1.5 years of restricted freedom, according to TASS. Specific details of the charges remain undisclosed.

Accusations against Shiplyuk involve the dissemination of data on hypersonic technology, which enables weapons to travel at speeds up to ten times the speed of sound. This case is part of a wider legal offensive against nearly a dozen scientists connected to Russia's military-industrial sectors. In a similar case, Shiplyuk's colleague Anatoly Maslov was sentenced to 14 years for treason earlier this year.

(With inputs from agencies.)