Ivan Safronov, an adviser to the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos suspected of handing over defense secrets, is a professional journalist but the exact nature of accusations is unclear, and only court, which has all the evidence, can handle the case, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2020) Ivan Safronov, an adviser to the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos suspected of handing over defense secrets, is a professional journalist but the exact nature of accusations is unclear, and only court, which has all the evidence, can handle the case, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.
"Only the court can determine if someone is guilty or not. Opining that accusations are unsubstantiated, even before the hearing, without having any information, has nothing to do with professionalism. We have, in fact, known Safronov as a very talented journalist, we value his journalistic talent, but we, like you, do not know the exact details of the accusations against him. The court has access to the charges and knows them, and the court will consider them," Peskov told reporters.
The president can request additional information about the case but "this is not a topic for the president," Peskov said.
"We read many articles that were published about this. But these journalistic materials are based, above all, on emotions. They do not and cannot have any real information on the results of the work of the counterintelligence as their basis," Peskov said.
The Kremlin pays attention to the opinions of the journalists, but these are "several dozens of opinions that should not be called an event important for all of the society," the spokesman said.
