Russian Chief Military Prosecutor Puzzled By Reaction To Resolution On Pasko's Case

Chief military prosecutor of Russia, Mikhail Kislitsyn, has said he is bewildered by the position of some officials and media who claim Grigory Pasko is "a victim" and a person who had good intentions. Kislitsyn reminded the press on Friday that Pasko had been accused of treason in the form of espionage. "Any state should ensure the security of its secrets," the chief military prosecutor stressed. Mikhail Kislitsyn reported that on order from a foreign journalist, Tadasha Okana, on September 11th 1997 Pasko got illegal access to a session of the Pacific fleet headquarters. There he recorded /and that was prohibited/ the information about Pacific fleet exercises which constitutes a state secret. Pasko intended to submit this information to Okana for a financial award. Mikhail Kislitsyn recalled that the court's ruling said that Okana had repeatedly given Pasko various tasks and the latter fulfilled them "timely and properly." "Treason, not environmental activity, is at issue," Mikhail Kislitsyn stressed. In December the court martial of the Pacific fleet sentenced Grigory Pasko to 4 years in prison. The military board of the Russian Supreme Court appealed against this decision. According to Mikhail Kislitsyn, "the sentence is too mild." The Prosecutor's General office has reported that senior assistant to the Russian Prosecutor General, Alexander Mytsykov, believes it is "strange when the legislative power starts interfering in the competence of the legal power."