Journalist Ivan Safronov is accused of the high treason

“The charge is brought. At the same time, it is not clear by whom and when Safronov was allegedly recruited, to whom and when he transmitted any information”, - RIA Novosti writes with reference to the accused’s lawyer Ivan Pavlov.

Safronov was arrested for two months on suspicion of working for Czech special services. According to investigators, he merged secret data abroad. According to Kommersant, the journalist was allegedly recruited back in 2012, and in 2017, he allegedly transmitted secret information about Russia's military-technical cooperation with African countries and Russia's activities in the Middle East. Safronov denies his guilt, believing that the current persecution is associated with his journalistic activities. He became an adviser to Roscosmos only at the end of May of this year. Moreover, as the head of Roskosmos Dmitry Rogozin noted earlier, he did not have access to classified information. The defense appealed the arrest of Safronov. The court will consider it on July 16.

On the day of the indictment, his former colleagues gathered at the pre-trial detention center to support the journalist. Loudspeaker police officers recognized the audience to disperse, as in Moscow it was still forbidden to gather for mass events. Some of them were detained.