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Updated September 5th, 2022 at 22:44 IST

Russia jails ex-reporter for 22 years for treason in trial seen as 'politically motivated'

Safronov worked as a defence and space reporter for Kommersant newspaper for a decade, before becoming an adviser to head of Russian space corporation Roscosmos.

Russia
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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A court in Moscow on Monday found a former journalist guilty of treason and sentenced him to 22 years in a maximum security prison, concluding a trial that has been widely seen as politically motivated. The sentence handed to Ivan Safronov is among the harshest moves against Russian independent journalists and Kremlin critics, who have faced mounting pressure in recent years.

Safronov worked as a defence and space reporter for Kommersant newspaper for a decade, before becoming an adviser to the head of the Russian space corporation Roscosmos. Safronov was accused of passing military secrets to Czech intelligence, and information about the Russian military to a German national. The former journalist insisted on his innocence and argued that he collected all the information from open sources in the course of his work and did nothing illegal.

Many Russian journalists and human rights activists have pushed for Safronov's release, maintaining that the authorities may have wanted to take revenge for his reporting that exposed Russian military incidents and shady arms deals. Hours before the ruling was announced by the Moscow City Court, 15 independent Russian media outlets issued a joint statement demanding Safronov's release.

The European Union on Monday also urged Russian authorities to drop all charges against Safronov and "release him without any conditions," denouncing "systematic repressions of the regime against independent journalism." Safronov has been in custody since his July 2020 arrest in Moscow.

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Published September 5th, 2022 at 22:44 IST

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