The court's military board ruled that a defence clause in the then Soviet Union's 1990 legal code, forbidding Russian servicemen from having contacts with foreigners, became "invalid" in 1993 when Russia's official secrets legislation took effect.

Pasko, a 40-year-old former reporter for the newspaper of the Pacific Fleet, was found guilty on December 25 of illegally collecting classified information on navy manoeuvres with the aim of passing it on to Japanese media.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court overruled another article of the Russian law, this time dating from 1996, which listed the sort of documents classified as "state secrets."

Pasko has filed a separate complaint appealing his conviction and four-year jail sentence, which is expected to be heard in late March according to his defence team.

One of the journalist's lawyers, Ivan Pavlov, raised hopes of Pasko's conviction being overturned by saying Wednesday's verdict showed the defence ministry had exceeded its powers and breached the constitution as well as official secrets law.

"One more thread on which the original verdict against Grigory Pasko was hanging has broken," Pavlov said, in remarks broadcast on Russia's NTV television channel.

However, the chief FSB (ex-KGB) investigator for the Pacific Fleet, Alexander Yegorkin, told Interfax the latest verdicts were "unlikely to affect Pasko's case."

Prosecutors have 10 days to appeal the court's verdicts.

Pasko is currently imprisoned in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, although his appeal will be held at the headquarters of the Supreme Court in Moscow.

He has appealed against his spying conviction, arguing that the charges against him were retribution for his exposure of alleged illegal dumping of nuclear waste by the Russian navy into the Sea of Japan.

Pasko, a 40-year-old former reporter for the newspaper of the Pacific Fleet, was found guilty on December 25 of illegally collecting classified information on navy manoeuvres with the aim of passing it on to Japanese media.

The invalidated act, dating from 1996, was used by experts to determine which of the documents Pasko handed over to the Japanese media were secret. But the defendant successfully appealed its validity.

Pasko has filed a separate complaint appealing his conviction and four-year jail sentence, which is expected to be heard in late March according to his defence team.

But the journalist's lawyer, Anatoly Pyshkin, told Moscow Echo radio that he hoped that "this decision will help to change Pasko's fate."

An official from the military prosecutor's office, Colonel Vladimir Milovanov, told Interfax that the defence ministry act in question cannot be applied as it was not properly registered with the ministry of justice.

The court ruling can be appealed within 10 days.

The military branch of the Supreme Court is due on Wednesday to examine another act, which dates back to the Soviet times, forbidding Russian servicemen from having contacts with foreigners unless compelled to by professional duty.

Pasko is currently imprisoned in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, although his appeal will be held at the headquarters of the Supreme Court in Moscow.

He has appealed against his spying conviction, arguing that the charges against him were retribution for his exposure of alleged illegal dumping of nuclear waste by the Russian navy into the Sea of Japan.

Jailed Russian Journalist's Appeal Could Be Heard In March: Lawyer
Moscow (AFP) Feb 11, 2002
The military branch of Russia's Supreme Court could hear an appeal by jailed journalist Grigory Pasko against his spying conviction late next month, one of his defence lawyers said Monday.

"Right now Grigory Pasko is in the process of studying the 1,200-page transcript of the trial as well as other documents in the case," Ivan Pavlov told a press conference here.

Pasko, a 40-year-old former reporter for the newspaper of the Pacific Fleet, was found guilty on December 25 of illegally collecting classified information on navy manoeuvres with the aim of passing it on to Japanese media.

He has appealed against the court verdict, arguing that the charges against him were retribution for his exposure to Japanese media of alleged illegal dumping of nuclear waste by the Russian navy into the Sea of Japan.

"If the verdict is confirmed, we will take his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg," said Jon Gaulaa, a lawyer for the Norwegian environmental group Bellona, which is giving the defence legal and financial help.

Pasko is currently imprisoned in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, although his appeal will be held at the headquarters of the Supreme Court in Moscow.

Russian Supreme Court Refuses Bail For Jailed Journalist
Moscow (AFP) Feb 8, 2002
The military chamber of Russia's Supreme Court Friday refused a request to free journalist Grigory Pasko, while his appeal against a spying conviction is being considered.

Pasko, a 40-year-old former reporter for the newspaper of the Pacific Fleet, was found guilty on December 25 of illegally collecting classified information on navy manoeuvres with the aim of passing it on to Japanese media.

He has appealed against the court verdict, arguing that the charges against him were retribution for his exposure to Japanese media of alleged illegal dumping of nuclear waste by the Russian navy into the Sea of Japan.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday appealed for Pasko to be set free while he is awaiting the outcome of his appeal to the Supreme Court.

Pasko's lawyers submitted a request for their client to be let out of jail, but the Supreme Court ruled that it could not allow him to be at liberty while his appeal is being heard, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency.

Pasko, in detention in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, is due to have his case examined shortly by the court's military chamber.

The date of the hearing has not been fixed yet, the court said, adding that the journalist was studying the details of the verdict against him.

The Supreme Court is to examine next Wednesday a complaint against two acts which form the legal basis for the charges against Pasko.

The first act, which experts used to determine which of the documents Pasko handed over to the Japanese media were secret, was already overruled by the Supreme Court last year.

The act was then appealed by an environmentalist and reporter who was also accused of spying after he published a series of articles on radioactive leaks in Russia's northern seas.

Another act, which dates back to the Soviet times, forbids Russian servicemen from having contacts with foreigners unless compelled by professional duty.

This legal process "is separate to the rexamination of Pasko's case following his appeal," the military chamber said on Thursday.

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