Safronov To Cooperate With Investigators On Treason Case - Lawyer

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2020) Ivan Safronov, an adviser to the chief of the Russian space agency and a suspect in a treason case, plans to cooperate with the investigators, defense lawyer Ivan Pavlov said Monday.

Safronov was detained last week and arrested until September 6. The Federal Security Service (FSB) said it was suspecting Safronov of passing defense secrets to a special service of a NATO country. His defense said that the Roscosmos adviser was suspected of working for the Czech special services. Safronov has pleaded not guilty.

"Is Ivan going to cooperate with the investigators to determine the truth? Of course, we never say no to constructive work with our legal opponents," Pavlov said.

According to Pavlov, the investigators believe that Safronov had used VeraCrypt software to communicate with foreign intelligence services.

"The investigators claimed earlier that Ivan allegedly used the internet to communicate with the Czech special services. Now they clarify that the messages were encrypted with the help of VeraCrypt software," the lawyer said.

The FSB found no state secrets in the published articles of Ivan Safronov, a former journalist, the lawyer said.

"Therefore, they claim that the crime he allegedly committed has nothing to do with his work as a journalist," Pavlov said.