Russian space formal Safronov billed in treason probe

An adviser to the head of the Russian place agency has appeared in courtroom on costs of treason.

Roscosmos mentioned in a assertion (in Russian) that former journalist Ivan Safronov’s arrest was not linked to his current career there.

Russia’s FSB security support said he was suspected of spying for a Nato region. He has denied the prices.

Formerly he described on navy matters for two significant Russian company dailies – Kommersant and Vedomosti.

Individually on Tuesday journalist Taisiya Bekbulatova was detained soon after law enforcement raided her flat, Kommersant noted. She was questioned as a witness but later on told reporters she was unable to solution their inquiries due to the fact of the character of the case.

Bekbulatova, the main editor of impartial news magazine Holod Media, is noted to be a friend of Safronov.

Having said that, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed of the treason allegations: “As far as we know this is not linked to his prior journalistic exercise in any way.”

Safronov joined Roscosmos as information adviser to director normal Dmitry Rogozin in the middle of May possibly.

The space agency mentioned it was encouraging investigators with their inquiries.

The former journalist faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

Veil of secrecy in these scenarios

Kommersant newspaper, the place Ivan Safronov worked for a 10 years, phone calls the charge of treason versus him “absurd” and describes him as a patriot. Friends and colleagues are demanding an genuine and open up investigation.

But that will be difficult at any time to know. Precise information and facts is notoriously challenging to get in spy situations, with trials held driving closed doors and even defence lawyers banned from sharing critical proof.

The Russian security assistance, the FSB, also appoints its have industry experts to identify what constitutes a condition mystery, and contesting their conclusions is nigh on not possible.

There will be an specially intense concentrate on this case, however. Ivan Safronov is perfectly recognized in Moscow journalist circles. A youthful person who wrote on frequently sensitive, navy matters, he is explained by mates as truthful, open up and specialist and there is a feeling of bewilderment – and concern – right here at his arrest.

An FSB assertion mentioned Safronov was believed to have been performing for the protection solutions of an unspecified Nato state.

“He gathered and passed to its representative classified information and facts about armed forces-specialized co-procedure, defence and security of the Russian Federation,” it said.

But in his courtroom visual appearance, Safronov claimed he did not acknowledge any guilt.

He refused to give evidence all through questioning by the FSB, training his appropriate to continue being silent, Tass information company claimed.

Meanwhile, friends and previous colleagues posted messages of support on social media. Several fellow journalists were being arrested outside the house FSB headquarters although demonstrating from his arrest.

What do we know about his do the job as a journalist?

Safronov was hugely acclaimed as a reporter on army and area problems for Kommersant, just before transferring to Vedomosti very last 12 months.

In June 2019, courtroom proceedings were being held about the alleged disclosure by Kommersant of details constituting a condition magic formula.

The information and facts reportedly had to do with an short article co-authored by Safronov about Russia’s deliveries of Su-35 fighter aircraft to Egypt. The report was afterwards taken off from the Kommersant website.

By the time of the court scenario, Safronov experienced been sacked from the newspaper for an post he labored on suggesting that Russian upper dwelling speaker Valentina Matviyenko was about to leave her submit.

The complete politics desk of the paper resigned in protest at the dismissal.

Safronov’s father, also named Ivan, was a properly-acknowledged armed service commentator at Kommersant.

He died just after falling from the fifth ground of a Moscow apartment constructing in 2007.

Ivan Safronov senior experienced been investigating claims of prepared Russian arms sales to Syria and Iran at the time of his dying, Kommersant stated.

What is Roscosmos?

The Roscosmos State Corporation for House Functions, to give it its whole identify, developed into its recent type in 2015 as a national corporation accountable for a wide variety of house flights and programmes.

Mr Rogozin, a controversial nationalist politician, took cost of the agency in May well 2018.

But it has been beset with complications. An accident later on in 2018 forced the launch of a Soyuz rocket to the Worldwide Room Station to be aborted.

Just prior to this incident, the crew on the ISS had found a mysterious gap.

The next yr, President Vladimir Putin’s pet house undertaking, the Vostochny place centre, was tainted by scandal as top rated officers were jailed for theft and corruption.