Surveyor at Birobidzhan nature reserve arrested on treason charges

Source: TASS

Russian FSB agents in Birobidzhan, the capital of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region, have arrested geodetic surveyor Valery Kachin on suspicion of state treason, TASS reported on Wednesday.

The materials associated with Kachin’s case are classified. After his arrest, the scientist was reportedly transferred to Moscow's Lefortovo remand prison for further investigation. The Lefortovo District Court told TASS that investigators have requested that the arrest be extended until March 12.

According to the Telegram channel Astra, Kachin last worked as a junior research associate at the Bastak Nature Reserve in Birobidzhan. The reserve’s site says that in 2014, Kachin graduated from Sholem Aleichem Amur State University, where he studied information systems and technologies.