With the website of the Vedomosti newspaper has lost the material of Ivan Safronov about the problems with prosecution in Russia under articles about treason and espionage. In it, the journalist said that the suspects “are actually deprived of the opportunity to defend themselves”
Ivan Safronov
An article by Ivan Safronov, an adviser to the head of Roscosmos, a former special correspondent of the publication and a Businessman, has disappeared from the website of Vedomosti. In it, the journalist, who has been in custody for more than a year, spoke about the problems with prosecution under articles on treason and espionage in Russia.
In place of the material that was published by the link, a 404 error message appeared on the site: “It may be an incorrect link. Try to find the article by name or let us know about the error. The search for the article on the site did not give any results.
At 12:59, the Vedomosti website stopped opening. “A DDoS attack is going on the website of Vedomosti, which is currently unavailable, technical services are trying to neutralize it,” the press service of Business News Media told RBC.
Alexander Malakhov, the editor-in-chief of the Vedomosti website, told RBC that he did not know the reason why Ivan Safronov’s column disappeared from the site. He stressed that the online editorial office has nothing to do with this.
“I will say this, the column was not lost for technical reasons,” Safronov’s lawyer Yevgeny Smirnov told RBC. “The specifics are a little known, but I can’t say the details,” he said.
At about 16: 45 Moscow time, the publication’s website began to open again, but Safronov’s article was not on it.
RBC sent a request to the owner of “Vedomosti” Ivan Eremin and his representative.
Acting editor-in-chief Irina Kazmina wrote in the editorial chat that she was dealing with the incident, an employee of Vedomosti told RBC. Kazmina herself did not respond to calls from RBC.
Vedomosti published Safronov’s article on the morning of July 23. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that it will be included in the digests for the head of state.
In his article, Safronov discusses the problems with prosecution under articles on treason and espionage in Russia. According to him, the suspects are “actually deprived of the opportunity to somehow defend themselves”, and the lawyers provided to them are not engaged in legal support, but immediately “describe the unenviable situation of the detainee and suggest that he think about concluding a pre-trial agreement”.
If the accused does not agree, the investigator asks him to ” think about the term (so, he may say, you are facing a double-digit figure, and according to the pre-trial agreement-6-7 years), think about your relatives (no one will wait for you)”or he can” offer a call to his relatives in exchange for the necessary testimony, ” Safronov said. According to him, it is important for the UK not to initiate a case against a single person, but to build a so-called criminal progression, that is, so that the accused not only admits guilt, but also testifies against others.
The journalist said that among the accused there are also those who cooperate with foreign intelligence services, “but there are not enough real spies,” in his opinion. At the same time, real intelligence officers among diplomats can only be expelled, and catching professionals is a rarity, multiplied by great luck. “You can’t rely on this, alas. Based on this, espionage cases are growing in Russia: it is easier to take your own people so that others are afraid. But it’s not strangers who are afraid, but their own, ” Safronov concluded.
Safronov was detained on July 7, 2020. He is accused of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code). The journalist has been under arrest for more than a year, at the end of June, the court extended his detention until October 7.
According to the prosecution, Safronov transmitted data to the Czech intelligence service via the Internet about Russia’s military-technical cooperation with the North African state and the actions of the Russian military in the Middle East. Safronov pleaded not guilty and linked the arrest to journalistic activities.
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