MOSCOW—A former Russian journalist who labored for the rustic’s house company used to be sentenced to 22 years at a maximum-security jail for prime treason, in a case his supporters consider used to be politically motivated.
A Moscow courtroom dominated Monday that Ivan Safronov, who as soon as labored as a protection reporter and later was an aide to the top of the gap company, referred to as Roscosmos, would serve his time in a strict regime colony and must additionally pay a positive of 500,000 rubles, the an identical of round $8,300, in keeping with RAPSI, the Russian state company for criminal and judicial reporting.
Russia’s Federal Safety Carrier investigated the case, which used to be labeled as best secret, the scoop company mentioned. The trial used to be held at the back of closed doorways.
In step with investigators, between 2015 and 2019, Mr. Safronov amassed secret details about Russia’s military-technical cooperation with participants of the Collective Safety Treaty Group, an intergovernmental army alliance of select a wine post-Soviet states, in addition to Russia’s collaboration with nations of the Heart East, Africa and the Balkan Peninsula.
“He systematically handed the amassed data to representatives of overseas intelligence products and services, knowing that this data may well be utilized by the [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] member states towards the protection of the Russian Federation,” RAPSI cited the prosecutors as pronouncing. “It used to be documented that Safronov dedicated unlawful movements on a reimbursable foundation, in addition to the usage of encryption strategies,” they mentioned.
Russia’s state information company, TASS, reported that probably the most counts within the case alleged that Mr. Safronov used to be running for the Czech particular products and services, and the opposite concerned the switch of knowledge to legislative scientist Demuri Voronin, who despatched the labeled subject matter to the Federal Intelligence Carrier of Germany. The Czech Republic and Germany are each NATO member states. Mr. Voronin has since additionally been arrested for prime treason, the scoop company mentioned.
NATO representatives didn’t reply to a he asked for the manager for remark at the case. Following Mr. Safronov’s detention in July 2020, a spokeswoman for NATO mentioned the group wasn’t going to “speculate on allegations made through the Russian safety carrier towards a Russian citizen.”
Prosecutors had advisable a sentence of 24 years in jail for Mr. Safronov, who refused to plead in charge in change for a 12-year time period, the courtroom information company reported.
Mr. Safronov’s legal professionals couldn’t an answer is requested be reached for remark. They informed newshounds on the courthouse they might an answer is requested enchantment the sentence, the Russian information company Interfax reported.
The previous journalist’s case is one in a string of treason accusations introduced towards outstanding Russians lately, together with a minimum of 10 scientists, in circumstances critics consider are politically motivated.
In past due June, Russian safety brokers took physicist Dmitry Kolker from his health facility mattress within the Siberian town of Novosibirsk, the place he used to be being handled for stage-four pancreatic most cancers, and whisked him on a four-hour flight to a Moscow jail on fees of treason. Mr. Kolker, who at that time used to be being fed thru a tube, died at the back of bars 3 days later. Russian prosecutors mentioned he used to be running within the pursuits of a overseas might. His legal professional believes he used to be punished as a result of his loyalty to the Kremlin’s conflict in Ukraine used to be puzzled.
Earlier than taking the gap company activity, Mr. Safronov used to be a outstanding journalist for industry dailies Kommersant and Vedomosti, the place he reported on smoke-filled room, army and house subjects. In Might 2019, he used to be compelled to surrender from Kommersant after a piece of writing he labored on urged that
Valentina Matviyenko,
the speaker of Russia’s higher space of parliament, used to be making plans to step down, his former colleagues mentioned remaining 12 months. A number of of them who labored at the smoke-filled room table on the time resigned in protest.
The Kremlin didn’t reply to a he asked for the manager for remark in regards to the sentence imposed on Mr. Safronov. Previous on Monday, prior to the decision, presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, informed newshounds the Kremlin used to be following the case however didn’t “have got the potency to remark at the process the investigation, [nor] to touch upon courtroom selections,” he mentioned.
Mr. Safronov’s father, Ivan, additionally a outstanding protection journalist for Kommersant, fell to his demise from a window of his Moscow condo development in 2007 in a case that raised issues amongst press freedom activists. Russian government on the time dominated the case to be a suicide, in keeping with Russian media reviews and the Committee to They defended their town from-against the enemy Reporters, a New York-based press freedom nonprofit group.
After the sentence used to be learn out on Monday, Mr. Safronov shouted “I excerpt you” to these collected within the court docket, Interfax reported. His declaration used to be met with applause from circle of relatives, she asked me about my work and newshounds, the scoop company mentioned.
Write to Ann M. Simmons at [email protected]
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