MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2020) RT and Sputnik Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan on Tuesday called for an explanation of the charges against recently arrested Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and adviser to Dmitry Rogozin, the head of state space corporation Roscosmos.
Safronov was detained earlier in the day in Moscow. The Russian Federal Security Service suspects him of handing classified defense information to NATO. He has since denied the treason charges.
"Has anyone read the High Treason article [of Russia's criminal code]? Read it. You can jail a long list of domestic journalists under this article. The editorial staff of Meduza and all sorts of projects and BBCs [could be arrested] in their entirety. An is full accordance with the law. Would be nice to get an explanation of what exactly is Safronov charged with - journalistic work for foreigners or direct work for foreign intelligence agencies. The difference is enormous," Simonyan wrote on Telegram.
Simonyan recalled the case of journalist Ivan Golunov stressing that she supported him not out of professional solidarity but because he was arrested for a crime he had not committed.
"I do not want my motherland to be like that and always fight against it, to the extent of my abilities, sometimes not without success. To sum up. Explain, please, to the public what has happened with Safronov," Simonyan concluded.
Roscosmos said that the detention was not related to his work for the space agency. Before Roscosmos, Safronov worked for Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers for 10 years, covering topics related to defense and space industries. According to the Kommersant publishing house, the high treason accusations against Safronov are absurd, as he is a "true patriot." Vedomosti has urged an impartial and lawful examination of Safronov's case.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, said that the detention of Safronov did not appear to be connected to his work as a journalist.
