Former journalist of “Kommersant” and “Vedomosti” arrested on suspicion of treason in Moscow

Ivan Safronov, a former “Kommersant” and “Vedomosti” journalist and adviser to Roscosmos Chairman, was arrested in Moscow on 7 July. The arrest took place within a high treason case.

The FSB said that the journalist had collected and passed information about the military-technical cooperation, defence and security of Russia to the secret service of a NATO country.

Ivan Safronov wrote about the military-industrial complex and space industry for almost 15 years. In May 2020, he moved to Roscosmos and began working as an adviser to the state corporation head Dmitry Rogozin.

The journalist’s arrest has not gone unnoticed. A series of single pickets in support of Safronov took place near the FSB headquarters in Moscow. More than 20 people, mostly journalists, took part in the rally. The police detained all of them. The most famous of the protesters was Ksenia Sobchak, former candidate in the 2018 presidential election in Russia.

Natalia Tolub