Scientist sentenced

A Siberian scientist who was acquitted last year on charges of espionage, fraud and selling space secrets to the Chinese has been sentenced to 14 years' hard labour after a retrial.

Viktor Danilov, former head of thermo-physics at Krasnoyarsk State Technical University, was also ordered to return the 500,000 roubles (£9,400) he was paid by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology for a report on satellite technology.

The sentence, delivered by three judges sitting without a jury in Krasnoyarsk Regional Court, came a year after Mr Danilov was acquitted by a jury in the same court. The Federal Security Service appealed successfully against the acquittal. Mr Danilov's laywer, Elena Evmenova, said he would appeal.