According to the Perviy Otdel human rights project, project reports passed by Gubanov and Golubkin to their Dutch colleagues had been examined by three specialized commissions prior to submission. None of these commissions found state secrets in the reports, Perviy Otdel said.

Several Russian scientists have been jailed in recent years in what critics say is a reflection of the state’s increasing paranoia toward scientific cooperation with foreign countries.

The scientific community has warned that treason cases against scientists will have a chilling effect on young researchers.