Lawyer: The FSB tried to prevent the publication of an article by journalist Ivan Safronov, which he wrote in a pre-trial detention center

The FSB tried to prevent the publication of a new article by journalist Ivan Safronov, accused of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code). This is reported by Open Media with reference to lawyer Yevgeny Smirnov.

The journalist worked on the investigation while in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. Because of this, he and his lawyers faced obstacles and pressure from the security forces.

“A whole system of pressure was involved: frequent searches at Ivan’s, a close examination of all the documents of lawyers and Safronov in the pre-trial detention center. They were clearly trying to find out about Ivan’s investigation and were afraid of its publication, ”the defender said in a conversation with the publication.

Lawyers wrote down the text from the words of their client and took it out of the pre-trial detention center - those held in Lefortovo are forbidden to transfer any handwritten notes to lawyers, Smirnov emphasized.

In his article, Safronov spoke about how citizens are prosecuted under the articles of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code) and espionage (Article 276 of the Criminal Code) and how such cases are initiated. The investigation was published in the printed version of the Vedomosti newspaper, but the journalist himself, according to the lawyer, is not yet aware of this.

“We are allowed to see him once every three weeks. Maybe he will hear about the publication of his investigation on the radio,” Smirnov said in a conversation with Open Media.

Also on July 23, after the publication of Safronov's text, the Vedomosti website stopped working due to a DDoS attack, Guzel Khairetdinova, the publication's communications director, told Meduza. A few hours later, the material was removed from the newspaper's website.

The lawyer does not rule out that pressure on Safronov will increase because of the article: “They will work more carefully with his cellmates, impose disciplinary sanctions. I can only advise: it’s easier to let Ivan Safronov go, forget this shameful case for the FSB and not suffer.”

July 27 In the telegram channel of the lawyer Ivan Pavlov, it is clarified that since July 23 - after the publication of the article - Ivan Safronov has been in solitary confinement. The report emphasized that the journalist's investigation is largely based on his conversations with cellmates.

Added information about a DDoS attack on the Vedomosti website following the publication of the journalist's investigation.

• Ivan Safronov is a former journalist for Kommersant and Vedomosti, at the time of his detention he served as an adviser to the head of Roskosmos. According to investigators, he passed abroad information about Russia's military-technical cooperation with African countries, as well as information about the activities of the armed forces in the Middle East region. The investigation believes that the journalist was recruited by the Czech special services, however, according to the defense, no evidence of this has yet been provided.
• Safronov has been in jail since July 2020. His persecution is associated with journalistic activities - he covered the work of the military-industrial complex.
• During his detention, the journalist was subjected to pressure. So, FSB Investigator Alexander Chaban offered Safronov a call from his mother in exchange for a deal with the investigation. Safronov's mother is a witness in this case, so they are forbidden to communicate: the last time the journalist saw her was in July 2020, and in October he was not even allowed to wish her a happy birthday. The journalist refused the investigator's proposal.