Week-ending 5 November 2021
On 2 November 2021 it became known that Ivan Safronov, held on remand on charges of high treason, has been charged additionally with passing classified information to a university in Switzerland and to Germany’s intelligence service. According to Safronov’s lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, the new charges only became known after the final indictment had been submitted. The case materials are classified. The Moscow Times reports that the investigators in the case allege that Safronov was recruited by NATO in 2012 and that he passed secret information on Russia’s military activities in the Middle East and cooperation with African countries to Czech intelligence in 2017. On 3 November RFE/RL reported that Ivan Safronov had been placed in solitary confinement for three days for attaching a TV antenna to his cell wall.
Sources:
RFE/RL, 2 November 2021: Ivan Safronov, a prominent former Russian journalist accused of high treason in a case widely considered to be politically motivated, has been additionally charged with passing classified information to a university in Switzerland and to Germany’s intelligence service. Safronov’s lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, said on November 2 that the new allegations were known only once his final accusation papers were submitted.
The Moscow Times, 2 November 2021: Prominent Russian ex-journalist Ivan Safronov faces new charges of treason, his former lawyer said Tuesday as reports indicated that authorities were wrapping up their investigation into his case. Though case materials are classified, investigators allege that NATO recruited Safronov in 2012 and that he passed secret information on Russia’s military activities in the Middle East and cooperation with African countries to Czech intelligence in 2017.
RFE/RL, 3 November 2021: Ivan Safronov, a prominent former Russian journalist accused of high treason in a case widely considered to be politically motivated, has been placed in solitary confinement for allegedly violating the detention center’s internal regulations. A member of the Public Monitoring Commission in Moscow, Boris Klin, said on November 3 that Safronov was placed in the punitive isolation cell for three days for attaching a TV antenna to his cell’s wall to improve the quality of a television set, which is not allowed.
