Moscow - Russian security forces on
Tuesday detained a former journalist who works as an aide to the
head of Russia's space agency and accused him of treason, saying
he had passed military secrets to an unnamed NATO power.
Footage released by the FSB security service showed Ivan
Safronov being detained outside his Moscow flat by armed agents
who searched him before putting him into a van.
He could later be heard saying "I'm not guilty" as masked
agents led him past reporters to a court hearing that was closed
to the public and was set to determine the terms of his custody.
Safronov, who has covered military affairs for two national
newspapers, faces up to two decades in jail if found guilty. His
trial is expected to be held behind closed doors because of its
sensitive nature.
It is the first time in nearly two decades that a journalist
has been accused of treason in Russia, said Ivan Pavlov, a
prominent defence lawyer.
Ivan Safronov, an adviser to the director of Russia's state space corporation, second left, shakes hands with his supporters standing behind bars in a courtroom in Moscow. Safronov pleaded innocent to the treason charges against him. Picture: Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP
His detention raised fears among journalists of a new wave
of repression, and staff at Kommersant, one of his former
newspapers, said in an editorial that the allegations looked
absurd because he was a real patriot.
Some of Safronov's former journalist colleagues protested
outside FSB headquarters before being detained.
The FSB accused Safronov of working for an unnamed foreign
intelligence service.
"Safronov, carrying out tasks for one of the NATO countries'
intelligence services, gathered and handed over to its
representative state secrets and information about
military-technical cooperation and about the defence and
security of the Russian Federation," it said.
Ivan Safronov, a former journalist who works as an aide to the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, detained on suspicion of treason is escorted before a court hearing in Moscow. Picture: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not believe the
charges were related to Safronov's work as a journalist.
The space agency said Safronov had no access to secrets and
the case was not related to his work there.
TASS reported last year that prosecutors wanted to bring a
case against Kommersant for disclosing a state secret.
Russian news portal The Bell said then that an article which
Safronov had worked on had disappeared from Kommersant's site.
It said Egypt had agreed to buy Russian Sukhoi SU-35 fighter
jets. Washington threatened Egypt with sanctions if the deal
went through.