Ivan Safronov (1990)
Ivan Safronov | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 May 1990 Moscow, USSR |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Alma mater | Higher School of Economics |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Ivan Ivanovich Safronov (Russian: Иван Иванович Сафронов; born 18 May 1990) is a Russian journalist. He was arrested in July 2020 on charges of treason related to allegedly disclosing state secrets. A Kremlin spokesman claimed following the arrest that "As far as we know this is not linked to his prior journalistic activity in any way." Kommersant called the charges of treason "absurd".[1]
Journalism and Roscosmos
Ivan Safronov worked on military reporting for Kommersant[2] until 2019.[3] He later became a journalist at the daily newspaper Vedomosti.[2]
In May 2020, Safronov started work at the Russian space agency Roscosmos as a public relations advisor to Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos.[1][3]
Legal case
Safronov was arrested in June 2020 and leading journalist
In June 2019, Kommersant was accused in Russian courts with disclosing state secrets; according to BBC News, the case was based on an article co-authored by Safronov[1] about Russian sales of fighter jets to Egypt.[3] Safronov was later fired from Kommersant over a separate article. The entire politics desk of Kommersant resigned in protest.[1]
Safronov was arrested in July 2020 on charges of treason. Kommersant called the treason charges "absurd".[1] The charges were of collecting secret information about Russian armed forces and giving the information to Czech spies. Safronov stated that the charges were false and that he was being prosecuted for his journalism.[3]
In a court hearing in late August/early September 2022, Safronov refused a plea bargain of a 12-year sentence in return for a guilty plea.[3]
On 5 September 2022 Safranov was sentenced to 22 years in prison in relation to the treason charges.[2] Safronov's legal team said that it would appeal the verdict.[3]
In February 2023, Ivan Safronov was dismissed from the position of adviser to the Director General of Roscosmos in accordance with the court verdict, under paragraph 4 of part one of Article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.[5]
Legal validity
Safronov's legal team stated that the trial included legal violations and that prosecution witnesses had stated that Safronov had not violated the law.[3]
Among Safronov's lawyers, a criminal investigation for allegedly revealing secret information was opened against Ivan Pavlov as a suspect, and Pavlov left Russia in 2021; and Dmitri Talantov was arrested for allegedly "discrediting" Russian armed forces.[3]
Analysis
Proekt published the details of the charges and said that the "state secrets" allegedly published by Safronov were mostly available on the Internet.[3]
Support for Safronov
Early on 5 September, prior to the court hearing,
Opposition to Safronov
Russian officials stated that the legal case was unrelated to Safronov's journalism.[3]
Family
Safronov's father, also named
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Rainsford, Sarah (5 September 2022). "Russian space official Safronov charged in treason probe". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ a b c Liffey, Kevin; Faulconbridge, Guy (5 September 2022). "Russian ex-journalist Safronov gets 22 years in prison for treason". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Tenisheva, Anastasia (5 September 2022). "Russia Jails Journalist Safronov for 22 Years on Treason Charges". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ "Officials raid the home of former 'Meduza' correspondent Taisiya Bekbulatova". Meduza. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ "Сафронова уволили из Роскосмоса". tass.ru (in Russian). 9 February 2023.
- ^ Prosecutors rule the case a suicide, Kommersant, 12 September 2007
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