Russia (2)

Grigory Pasko, Boyevaya Vakhta
Imprisoned: November 20, 1997
Grigory Pasko, a military officer of the Russian Pacific Fleet and a correspondent for Boyevaya Vakhta, was arrested on 20 November and jailed in Vladivostok for passing classified information to foreign agents. The charges stemmed from for a series of articles by Pasko in the military newspaper Boyevaya Vakhta, in Japan's Asahi daily, and on the NHK television company of Tokyo that discussed the environmental hazards caused by Russia's decaying nuclear submarine fleet. Officials claimed the reports, published and aired over a three-year period, posed a threat to Russia's national security. On 14 October 1998, a closed trial against Pasko began, on charges of high treason and revealing state secrets. Pasko remains in custody and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Altaf Galeyev, Radio Titan
Imprisoned: May 27, 1998
On 27 May 1998, Bashkir police raided the Ufa offices of Radio Titan, the sole independent radio station in the Republic of Bashkortostan, beating and arresting staff members and supporters. Police seized the radio equipment and detained the entire staff, including Galeyev, the manager and news director, after Radio Titan aired interviews with three opposition candidates who were barred from the presidential elections. Galeyev was held for firing shots in the air when police stormed the station's office. On June 4, he was charged with 'hooliganism' and the illegal use of firearms, and placed in a pre-trial detention center. If found guilty, he faces a possible prison sentence of up to seven years.