A Russian court has sentenced the journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison on trumped-up treason charges, a record sentence that has shocked friends and supporters who gathered in court on Monday to protest against his imprisonment. Safronov, a former defence reporter for the Kommersant and Vedomosti dailies, was tried on secret evidence. But case files revealed by Proekt showed that much of the case against him came from public data in his articles and alleged ties to foreigners that were not backed up by evidence.
His lawyer said it would send a chilling effect through Russian journalism and showed that “for good, legal journalism work, you can go to prison for a long time”.
Most of Russia’s independent media signed a public statement calling for Safronov’s release. “We believe this decision is unjust and politically motivated. Journalism is not a crime.”
In a final statement to the court before his sentencing, Safronov said: “The whole world will see that they want to put a journalist in jail for writing articles. To pass a guilty verdict means to end the topic of freedom of speech for a long time, if not for ever, because there will be no speech, no freedom.
Russian journalist Ivan Safronov sentenced to 22 years in prison | Russia | The Guardian
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