7 months ago
32
Russian physicist
Anatoly Maslov was
convicted
of
treason
on Tuesday and
sentenced
to 14 years in a
penal colony
, a Reuters reporter at the court said.
Maslov, 77, is one of a string of eminent Russian
scientists
who have been charged with treason in recent years.
He and a number of the others had conducted theoretical work in areas relevant to the development of
hypersonic missiles
- cutting-edge weapons capable of carrying payloads at up to 10 times the speed of sound to punch through air-defence systems.
Maslov was convicted by a St Petersburg court following a trial that was close to the media. He had protested his innocence.
