Sea waste whistleblower freed

Grigory Pasko, the Russian military journalist and whistleblower, was released from jail on parole yesterday for good behaviour after serving more than two-thirds of his term. He said he would seek a full acquittal.

Pasko was sentenced to four years in December 2001 for illegally attending a meeting of top military commanders and making notes there. A military court said he intended to pass the notes to the Japanese media. The journalist and his supporters said the sentencing was punishment for his reporting on environmental abuses by the Russian navy, which included dumping radioactive waste in the sea.

He has maintained his innocence and refused to seek a pardon because that would have been tantamount to admitting guilt. A court in the eastern town of Ussuriysk freed Pasko based on a petition from his lawyers.

"We're going to do everything to ensure this criminal case is recognised as a falsification," he said outside the jail.

"We won in almost all civilian courts. However, as soon as the case falls into the hands of the military justice system, we are witness to a mockery of the law and common sense."