Supreme court: 5-year pre-trial detention of scientist subsequently jailed for spying was illegal

Russia's Supreme Court has ruled that it was unlawful to keep a Russian scientist working in the military industry for 5 years in pre-trial detention.

Igor Sutyagin was arrested in 1999 on charges of spying for the U.S.

He pleaded not guilty, but was held for half a decade before a court sentenced him to 15 years in jail.

Sutyagin was released early as part of a spy swap with the U.S. in 2010.

A year later, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Russia to pay Sutyagin 20,000 EUR for violating his right to a fair trial.

However, while Russia's Supreme Court ruled that Sutyagin’s pre-trial detention was illegal, it upheld the legitimacy of his 15-year jail sentence.