Former journalist Ivan Safronov sentenced to 22 years in prison

The Moscow City Court sentenced former journalist Ivan Safronov, adviser to the head of Roskosmos, to 22 years in prison, finding him guilty of treason, TASS reports.

Ivan Safronov will serve his sentence in a strict regime colony. The term assigned to Safronov has become the most severe punishment in judicial practice related to cases of treason, the agency noted.

Ivan Safronov was also fined 500,000 rubles (about $8,300).

Earlier on September 5, it was reported that the court found Safronov guilty of committing a crime under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (High Treason).

Prosecutors sought 24 years in prison for Safronov for passing secret information to representatives of a foreign intelligence service.

From 2015 to 2019, the journalist was collecting classified information about Russia's military-technical cooperation with member-countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as well as with the countries of the Middle East, Africa and the Balkan Peninsula, the Federal Security Bureau of Russia said. Ivan Safronov was detained on July 7, 2020. He refused a deal with the investigation.