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Memorial recognizes convicted journalist Ivan Safronov as a political prisoner
The Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial Project has recognized Ivan Safronov, Kommersant’s defense correspondent and former adviser to the Russian Federal Space Agency's (Roscosmos) ex-head, as a political prisoner. On September 5, the Moscow City Court sentenced him to 22 years in a maximum-security prison in the case of treason. According to investigators, Safronov handed over classified information to Czech intelligence. The human rights advocates reported this in their Telegram channel.
According to the human rights advocates, the FSB has not proved the guilt of the journalist and former adviser to the ex-head of Roscosmos. According to Memorial, Safronov received information from open sources, he did not have access to classified information.
On September 5, the court sentenced Ivan Safronov to 22 years in a maximum-security prison for treason. According to investigators, Safronov has been cooperating with Czech intelligence since 2017. According to the Project Media Outlet, the verdict states that Safronov handed over seven files about "military and technical cooperation of Russia" with Libya, Algeria, Serbia, and the CIS countries and about the presence of Russian military in Syria.
At the same time, a prosecuting witness had testified that the journalist had received information from open sources and had not worked with foreign intelligence services. After that, the prosecutor's office refused to hear some of its witnesses.
Independent journalists have published a statement demanding the release of Ivan Safronov. According to the correspondents, the FSB has not provided any evidence of Safronov’s guilt. In addition, the prosecution has not proved in any way that the journalist had access to classified information and even more so gave it to any intelligence. There is also no evidence in the case that he was paid by foreign intelligence services. The independent media stated that the indictment was a description of Ivan Safronov's active and high-quality work as a journalist.