Dmitry Kolker, Novosibirsk State Technical University’s professor and Novosibirsk State University’s head of the quantum optical technologies laboratory, has died following his arrest, report Siberian media outlets KP-Novosibirsk and Taiga.info; Kolker’s son Maxim has published the telegram he received about his father’s death.
The telegram states that Dmitry Kolker was taken from custody to a hospital, where he died at 02:40 am.
Dmitry Kolker. Photo: Social media
Kolker, 54, was arrested on Thursday, 30 June, over high treason charges. Law enforcement retrieved Kolker from a hospital, where he was placed after his health had got worse — the professor had fourth stage pancreatic cancer. Kolker was in a maintenance treatment because “the chemo options had been exhausted”. According to his relatives, he could not eat without help.
The next day, despite the state of his health, a Novosibirsk court sent Kolker to a Moscow pre-trial detention centre. Kolker’s home was searched, and he was escorted to Moscow by plane.
Previously, Taiga.info reported that the case against Kolker could be connected to the persecution of Sergey Bagaev, director of a laser physics institute in Novosibirsk accused of embezzlement.
