Russian court sentences a former journalist to 22 years in prison

• Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and adviser to the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, sentenced to 22 years in prison.
• Accused of stealing state secrets about Russia’s military and technological developments.
• Media outlets demand his release and an investigation into alleged legal violations.

In the most high-profile case of treason in recent years, the Moscow City Court sentenced Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and adviser to the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, to 22 years in prison on Monday.

“[The court rules out] to sentence Safronov to a term of 22 years to be served in a high security jail,” the judicial board announced the decision. In addition, he was sentenced to two years of restriction of freedom after his release and a fine of 500,000 rubles.

The defense has 10 days to appeal this decision, it has not yet entered into force, according to RIA

Safronov was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in July 2020 after being accused of stealing state secrets about Russia’s military and technological developments, as well as defence and security, and passing them on to NATO.

As a journalist, Safronov specialised in reporting on military and space topics for the Vedomosti and Kommersant newspapers before becoming an adviser to Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of Roscosmos.

Due to the seriousness of the charges, the case was handled behind closed doors, so details of the case were not officially released. Lawyers for Safronov said last week that the prosecutor offered the journalist a guilty plea in exchange for a 12-year sentence reduction, which he turned down.

A few of Russia’s remaining independent media outlets, including Meduza, Novaya Gazeta, TVRain, and others, issued a statement Monday in support of Ivan Safronov, demanding his release and an investigation into alleged legal violations in the case.

“It is clear to us that the reason for Ivan’s persecution is not ‘treason’, which is not confirmed by anything, but his journalistic work and materials that he published without regard to the opinion of the Ministry of Defense and the Russian authorities,” the statement said.

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