Russian ex-journalist Safronov will get 22 years in jail for treason

A Russian courtroom on Monday sentenced a former journalist to 22 years in jail for treason after prosecutors mentioned he disclosed state secrets and techniques, a ruling his supporters mentioned was a harsh punishment that confirmed the absence of media freedom in Russia.

Ivan Safronov, a former defence reporter for the Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers turned adviser to the top of Russia’s area company, was arrested in 2020 and accused of exposing categorised data.
Safronov’s legal professionals mentioned they’d attraction the decision. His supporters say the case is retribution for his reporting which uncovered particulars of Russia’s worldwide arms offers.

Speaking outdoors the courtoom, Safronov’s lawyer Dmitry Katchev mentioned he was virtually misplaced for phrases on the ruling.
“Safronov was given 22 years for his journalistic activity. I want each of you, who are looking at me now, to think whether it is worth staying in this profession. If somebody was given 22 years for doing his job,” he informed reporters.

Human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov mentioned the sentence was a “savage, demonstratively cruel punishment, corresponding to the current state of Russia.”

He mentioned he couldn’t discover any examples of any treason instances resulting in such a prolonged sentence, not to mention towards a journalist.

Prosecutors mentioned Safronov shared state secrets and techniques about Russia’s arms gross sales within the Middle East to the Czech Republic’s overseas intelligence arm. He has denied the costs and final month rejected a plea deal that will have seen him serve a 12-year jail sentence.

His arrest in July 2020 sparked outcry from Russian journalists, together with at state-run shops. The European Union had known as on Russia to drop all fees towards Safronov and launch him unconditionally.
Following his arrest, the Kremlin known as Safronov a “talented journalist,” however has repeatedly denied involvement with the case.

Journalists collect in entrance of screens throughout a video hyperlink in the midst of a listening to of the case of Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and an aide to the top of Roscosmos area company who stays in custody on state treason fees, in Moscow, Russia September 5, 2022. (REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina)

Safronov, 32, denied the costs and mentioned the knowledge he’s alleged to have handed to the Czech Republic was all open supply public data.

During the trial his authorized staff printed hyperlinks to 19 printed articles and authorities statements that prosecutors declare represent the “state secrets” Safronov is alleged to have handed to Czech overseas intelligence.
“Ivan never sent any secret information anywhere – for money or for free…He was an ordinary journalist, honestly doing his job,” his legal professionals mentioned in a press release.

His defence staff consider the trial is retribution for Safronov revealing Russia’s plans to promote fighter jets to Egypt. The estimated $2-billion deal was scrapped quickly after when the U.S. threatened sanctions on Cairo if it went forward.

Ahead of Monday’s courtroom listening to, a number of impartial Russian media shops known as for Safronov to be launched. In a press release, shops together with Meduza, Novaya Gazeta and TV Rain, mentioned it was “obvious” Safronov was being punished for his reporting on Russia’s army procurement offers that had irked the defence ministry.

The heavy sentence – greater than Russian courts usually hand down in homicide instances – is seen as a blow towards Russian reporting amid an intensification of the stress placed on press freedom by the Kremlin since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Separately on Monday, a Moscow courtroom revoked the publishing licence for Novaya Gazeta, a flagship impartial newspaper which ceased publishing days after Russia despatched tens of hundreds of troops into Ukraine and imposed strict new controls over media shops. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Guy Faulconbridge)