Journalist Ivan Safronov called "an open secret" the information he allegedly handed over to Czech intelligence about Russia's military activities in the Middle East. Information, he said, is easy to find on the Internet: it requires a laptop and only three hours. Judge Viktor Rogov was not convinced by the arguments, and he rejected the defense's complaint for an extension of the term of arrest. Safronov will remain in the pre-trial detention center until April 7. Advisor to the head of Roscosmos and journalist Ivan Safronov said in court that he would easily find in the public domain "secret information" about Russia's defense capability, which he is accused of disclosing. To do this, he needs a laptop and three free hours. However, he does not have such an opportunity, as well as the opportunity to defend himself in general, Safronov emphasized at a court hearing that considered a complaint to extend his arrest, Kommersant reports.

The journalist expressed regret that the courts allegedly blindly believe the investigation and the prosecutor, while the basis of the accusation is only an “open secret”.

Safronov's lawyers insisted that the decision to extend the arrest should be canceled, since it was made on December 27, and one of the main arguments of the FSB representatives was the need to complete the acquaintance with 22 volumes of the case file, which had just begun by that time. However, the 1st Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction recognized as lawful the extension of the terms of detention in the pre-trial detention center until April 7.

The last meeting, perhaps, will be the last before the start of the trial. The defense side must finish familiarization with the case materials on February 11. “We proceed from the fact that February 11 is also a day for study, but we are afraid that we will immediately be asked to sign a graduation protocol,” lawyer Dmitry Talantov said.

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“In shorts and only with a pen in hand”

Defenders have already prepared a petition demanding additional time to familiarize themselves with the case materials. To date, lawyers have managed to study no more than half of the written documents and have only begun to study the audio recordings. At the same time, they are forbidden to make any extracts of even unclassified data from the criminal case and wiretapping, and they are invited to study the records according to the transcripts proposed by the FSB. “But we should compare them with the originals,” said lawyer Dmitry Katchev.

Lawyers working with Safronov, at the same time, doubt that they will be able to hand over the petition to representatives of the department: it is forbidden to bring things and papers into the building of the FSB Investigation Department. In addition, the investigators select all the papers on which the defenders make notes during the familiarization with the case.

“In fact, we are offered to go to the investigator’s office, figuratively speaking, only in shorts and only with a pen in hand, in order to make notes, if necessary, in a secret notebook, which is kept in his safe,” Talantov stated. i

What Safronov was charged with

Safronov was detained on July 7, 2020, accused of treason. According to the relevant article (275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), he faces 12 to 20 years in prison. Safronov himself connects the detention with his journalistic activities.

According to the FSB, the Russian allegedly worked for one of NATO's special services, collecting and transmitting information about military-technical cooperation, defense and security of Russia. In particular, he handed over to the Czech Republic secret information related to the supply of weapons and the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in Africa and the Middle East, according to the investigation. VeraCrypt was allegedly used to send data from a home computer.

The FSB reported that the Foreign Intelligence Service had been monitoring Safronov since at least the fall of 2019. It was the SVR that transmitted information to the FSB about Safronov sending secret data to a Czech intelligence officer. The latter, according to the service, underwent special training and was involved in the activities of a foreign intelligence service.

bbabo.Net