Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and advisor to the head of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, accused of treason against the state, stands inside the defendant’s cage while attending a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, on September 5. (Photo: the press service of the Moscow City Court / publication / Reuters)

In the most high-profile treason case in recent years, the Moscow City Court on Monday sentenced Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and adviser to the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, to 22 years in prison, a Moscow correspondent reported. from the room.

“[El tribunal descarta] The Judicial Council announced the sentence “to 22 years imprisonment for Safronov in a maximum security prison”, in addition, he was sentenced to a restricted two-year prison term after his release and a fine of 500 thousand rubles.

The defense has 10 days to appeal this decision, which has not yet entered into force, according to the Russian Information Agency

More background: Safronov was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in July 2020 after being accused of collecting sensitive country data on Russia’s military and technical developments, as well as defense and security, and handing them over to NATO.

As a journalist, Safronov specialized in covering military and space issues for Vedomosti and Kommersant newspapers before moving on to work as an advisor to former Roscosmos President Dmitry Rogozin.

The details of the case were not officially released, as it was dealt with behind closed doors due to the seriousness of the charges against her. Safronov’s lawyers claimed last week that the prosecutor offered the journalist a guilty plea in exchange for a reduced sentence of 12 years, which he refused.

Some of the remaining independent Russian media outlets, including Meduza, Novaya Gazeta and TVRain, among others, published a statement in support of Ivan Safronov on Monday, calling for the journalist’s release and calling for an investigation into the alleged violations.

“It is clear to us that the reason for the persecution of Ivan is not “treason”, which is not confirmed by anything, but his journalistic work and the materials that he publishes without taking into account the opinion of the Ministry of Defense and the authorities. Ross. ”, stated the statement.