The Supreme Court in Russia has denied Ivan Safronov’s final appeal against a 22-year jail sentence on charges of treason. Safronov, a former defence reporter for prominent newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti, faced arrest in 2020 on accusations of disclosing classified information.
Despite being an adviser to the head of Russia’s space agency at one point, Safronov was convicted in September of last year, prompting his supporters to criticize the ruling as draconian and indicative of the lack of media freedom in Russia. The charges against him alleged that he leaked military secrets to the Czech Republic, a NATO member. However, his defense team argued that the case was merely retaliation for his previous journalistic work, which involved reporting on Russia’s plans to sell fighter jets to Egypt.
Following his sentencing, Safronov was transferred to a high-security prison in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia in February. Notably, he was not present during the Wednesday Supreme Court decision in Moscow.
On Monday, Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza also lost an appeal against a 25-year sentence for treason and spreading “false information” about Russia’s armed forces, stemming from his outspoken criticism of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. These cases have raised concerns about the state of media freedom and political dissent in Russia.
