politics
февраль 6, 2026
Saint Petersburg Medico-Scientist Sent to Pre-Trial Detention on 'High Treason' Charges Due to Publications Reportedly Accessible to Norwegian Intelligence
A court in Saint Petersburg has placed medico-scientist Alexei Dudarev under arrest.
TL;DR
- Scientist-medic Alexei Dudarev was sent under arrest in Saint Petersburg.
- He is accused of 'high treason' due to texts that 'could have been read by Norwegian intelligence'.
- Dudarev is the chief researcher at the North-Western Scientific Center for Hygiene and Public Health.
- His family states he conducted exclusively scientific activities and had no access to state secrets.
- The accusation is based on his co-authored publications for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) journals, which are publicly available.
- Dudarev denies the charges.
- Russia saw a record number of convictions for espionage and high treason in 2025, with 31 scientists imprisoned by year-end.
The court in Saint Petersburg sent scientist-medic Alexei Dudarev under arrest. According to the data of the human rights project "The First Department", he is accused of "high treason" because of texts that "could have been read by Norwegian intelligence".
Alexei Dudarev is the chief researcher at the FBUH "North-Western Scientific Center for Hygiene and Public Health" of Rospotrebnadzor. He was detained on January 14 on his way to work. The court sent Dudarev under arrest until March 13 of this year.
Dudarev has been exclusively engaged in scientific activities in recent years, his son told human rights defenders. He wrote articles for Russian and international scientific journals, participated in conferences, and studied the health issues of the peoples of the North. The scientist's relatives claim that he never had access to state secrets and did not sign relevant obligations.
According to "The First Department", the accusation against the scientist is based on his publications for international scientific journals of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). He was a co-author in them. Publications of these journals can be found in the public domain. The AMAP program operates within the framework of the Arctic Council – an intergovernmental forum that includes Russia.
According to the investigation, information from Dudarev's scientific articles could allegedly be used by Norwegian intelligence. The scientist himself does not admit guilt.
In 2025, a record number of sentences were handed down in Russia for espionage and high treason, according to human rights defenders. 468 people were convicted on charges of espionage, high treason, confidential cooperation with foreign organizations, and aiding the enemy. 31 scientists were in prison at the end of the year – seven of them were arrested during 2025.