Moscow 31 August : The prosecutor in the case of espionage of the former Russian journalist Ivan Safronov has demanded a 24 year prison term in a court in Moscow declared.As per the investigation, the 32 year-old provided confidential information on the arms trade and operations of the Russian Armed Forces in Africa and in the Middle East to foreign intelligence services, as reported by the DPA news agency.
Safronov’s lawyer rebuffed the allegations at the beginning of the trial, explaining that the journalist only utilized sources that were easily accessible to the public.
Safronov was taken into custody more than two years ago, and has been in prison ever since.
He often wrote about security and military issues for newspapers like Kommersant as well as Vedomosti.
Prior to his arrest, he was employed by Roscosmos.Russian agency for space Roscosmos.
According to a lawyer’s association the official of the prosecution gave Safronov the possibility of 12 years in prison in the event that the former journalist admitted his guilt.
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