Pasko claims charges are revenge for his reporting

Grigory Pasko is accused of passing classified documents on the combat-readiness of the Russian Pacific fleet to Japanese media.

He was acquitted of treason and espionage charges in 1999, but found guilty on lesser charges of abuse of office.

The Russian Supreme Court decided to send the case back for trial by a different judge after prosecutors demanded a retrial.

Mr Pasko also appealed against the verdict, and is now seeking a full acquittal.

Retribution

In the new closed-door military trial, the prosecutor dropped five charges included in the initial 10-count indictment.

The nine-year prison term is also shorter than the 12 years the prosecution demanded in the first trial.

However, the prosecutor demanded that Mr Pasko should be stripped of his military title of second rank captain and his awards for military service.

Mr Pasko and his lawyers said the treason charges were retribution for his reporting on alleged environmental abuses by the Russian navy, including dumping of radioactive waste in the Sea of Japan.

Amnesty

He is one of several Russian whistleblowers and researchers accused of espionage.

In 1999 he was sentenced to three years in jail, but was set free under the terms of a state amnesty because he had already been in custody for 19 months.

His diary, describing the time he spent in Russia's overcrowded prison system, has been published on the internet.