Russian journalist Ivan Safronov sentenced to 22 years in a maximum-security prison for «treason»

Former Kommersant journalist and former advisor to the head of Roscosmos Ivan Safronov has been sentenced to 22 years in a maximum-security penal colony for “passing classified information” about the Russian Armed Forces.

According to the indictment published by Proekt in August, Safronov's case is based solely on conjecture: none of the “witnesses” know anything about the journalist's “crimes.” And almost all the information which he allegedly passed on and which is considered a “state secret,” is in the public domain.

Safronov was arrested in early July 2020. The FSB believes that in 2017, he allegedly passed classified data to a Czech intelligence agency that worked under the direction of the United States. The data was related to Russia's military and technical cooperation in Africa and the actions of the Armed Forces in the Middle East.