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Journalist on trial for ‘treason’ denounces ‘extreme cynicism’

A renowned Russian investigative journalist, Ivan Safronov, claimed his innocence and denounced the “extreme cynicismof justice on Monday, April 4, the first day of a high treason trial that could carry him 20 years in prison. Ivan Safronov, 31, is considered one of Russia’s top journalists on military affairs and was arrested in July 2020 amid mounting pressure on the independent press — which has grown since the beginning of the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine.

A “parody” of justice

The Safronov affair has been denounced by his former colleagues in revenge for his articles referring in particular to failures or embarrassing incidents in the Russian military. Accused of “state treasonon behalf of a foreign power and imprisoned since his arrest, the suspect is to be tried behind closed doors by a Moscow court from Monday. On Telegram, a lawyer specializing in the case, Ivan Pavlov, published a long letter from the journalist in the morning, dismissing all charges against him and claiming to be the victim of “parodyof justice. †I have indeed received information from open sources related to my field – military journalismwrites Ivan Safronov.

“Crime Against Justice”

corn “I produced journalistic content that did not contain a single word or number received under the seal of secrecy or illegalDuring the investigation, he claims he never had the right to use the internet to show the researchers the content of his articles. He also says that he usually only saw his lawyers once a month, and that they did not even were allowed to bring a sheet of paper to take notes.”It is indeed extremely cynical, if not a crime against justice, to charge a man with a crime which could carry up to twenty years in prison without giving him a chance to defend himself.“, denounces Ivan Safronov.

The suspect had worked for two influential Russian daily newspapers, Vedomosti and Kommersant. Pushed until Kommersant’s resignation in 2019, he became an advisor to the director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, in May 2020. Ivan Safronov is suspected of it, according to the Russian security services (FSB)transferred state secrets about military and technical cooperation, defense and security of Russia” Bee “an intelligence agency of a NATO country“. The Kremlin, for its part, assured that his arrest had”nothing to do with his journalistic activities

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