Ivan Safranov in the dockFrance Press agency

Posted on 04/04/2022 10:35

Russian investigative journalist Ivan Safronov defended his innocence on Monday and denounced the “severe cynicism” of justice on the first day of his trial for high treason in Moscow, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Safronov, 31, is considered one of the best Russian journalists on military affairs, in July 2020, in the context of mounting pressure on the independent press, which has intensified since the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine.

Safronov, accused of “betraying the state” in favor of a major foreign power, appeared smiling Monday in the dock at the Moscow court and made a symbol of victory.

Safronov thanked his colleagues for coming to cover the case, according to AFP reporters at the scene. The operation takes place in the same court behind closed doors.

On Telegram, today the lawyer specializing in the case, Ivan Pavlov, published a long letter from the journalist, who denies all the accusations and says that he is the victim of a “parody” of justice.

Safronov wrote: “In fact, I received information regarding my field, the military press, from open sources.” But “I have created journalistic content that does not include a single word or data that has been received secretly or illegally.”

During the investigation, the journalist claimed that he never had the right to use the Internet to prove to investigators the content of his products. He also claims that he only met his lawyer once a month and they were not even allowed to take a note-taking paper.

“To charge a man with a crime that could be punished with 20 years in prison without being offered a chance to defend himself is really a severe mockery or a crime against justice,” Safronov said.

The defendant worked for two influential Russian newspapers, Vedomosti and Kommersant. In 2019, he was forced to resign from Kommersant, and in May 2020 he became an adviser to the director of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin.

According to the Russian Security Services (FSB), Safronov is suspected of “passing state secrets on Russian military, technical, defense and security cooperation” to a “NATO state intelligence service”.