Russian scientist dies two days after treason arrest
STORY: Physicist Dmitry Kolker, 54, had been taken from his hospital bed, where he was being fed through a tube, and bundled onto a flight of more than four hours to Moscow, where the lawyers said he was taken to Lefortovo prison and later died in a nearby hospital.
His cousin Anton Dianov told Reuters from the United States that the accusation against the laser specialist - that he had betrayed state secrets to China - was preposterous.
The family and lawyers said Kolker was detained, and his house searched, by the FSB security service. They said the treason charges - which carry a sentence of up to 20 years - were based on lectures Kolker had delivered in China, even though the content had been approved by the FSB.
Reuters did not receive a reply to an emailed request for comment from the FSB.
A number of Russian scientists have been arrested and charged with treason in recent years for allegedly passing sensitive material to foreigners. Critics of the Kremlin say the arrests often stem from unfounded paranoia.
