Mitko, Russian Arctic expert, dies at 81 under house arrest

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Valery Mitko, a renowned Russian polar scientist has died while being under house arrest on charges of treason. He was 81. Mitko died on Monday in St. Petersburg of an unspecified illness, according to the Pervyi Otdel human rights group that defended him. It said that Mitko just returned from a hospital and was unable to walk. Mitko, a widely-acclaimed researcher of the Arctic region and one of the country’s leading hydroacoustics experts, was accused of revealing sensitive data during a 2018 academic trip to China, the charges he denied. He has remained under house arrest since his detention in February 2020.