Watchdog

MOSCOW -- Amnesty International has called on Russian authorities to open to the public the ongoing trial of Ivan Safronov, a prominent former Russian journalist accused of high treason in a case widely considered to be politically motivated.

In a statement on April 11, Amnesty expressed concern over the increasing number of trials in the country involving charges of high treason and called on authorities to release the 31-year-old Safronov, who faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

"Especially concerning is the status of secrecy of such cases that is labeled to all the materials, due to which lawyers are forced to sign papers barring them from making the details of the cases public," the rights group said.

The Moscow City Court began Safronov's trial on April 4 on a charge that he passed secret information about Russian arms sales in the Middle East to NATO member the Czech Republic in 2017.

Safronov, who covered the defense industry for the newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti, is also a former adviser to the head of Russia's space agency Roskosmos, Dmitry Rogozin.

Safronov has repeatedly denied the accusations and his supporters have held pickets in Moscow and other cities demanding his release.

Human rights organizations have issued statements demanding Safronov’s release and expressing concerns over an intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia.

BISHKEK -- Former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev has been removed from the courtroom for the second time in three days after he began disrupting proceedings during his trial on a charge of attempting to seize power amid anti-government protests in October 2020.

As a hearing at the Birinchi Mai district court on April 11 resumed, Atambaev shouted "shame!" He also began kicking the glass walls of his defendant's enclosure and again stated that his poor state of health precluded him from being in the courtroom.

After people present in the courtroom started expressing support for the former president, the judge ordered the bailiffs to remove Atambaev from the room.

The judge already had to remove Atambaev on April 8 for "deliberately disrupting order in the courtroom" after the former president started kicking the glass enclosure, saying that he could not be in the courtroom due to his medical condition.

Earlier last week, Atambaev said he felt sick, and the trial was adjourned after an ambulance arrived at the court to take the former president to receive medical care.

On April 5, Atambaev said he felt better but refused to testify at the trial.

The charge against Atambaev stems from his participation in anti-government rallies in October 2020 that were sparked by controversial parliamentary elections seen by many as rigged.

In the wake of the protests, Atambaev, who was then serving an 11-year prison term he was handed earlier that year for his role in the illegal release of a notorious crime boss, Aziz Batukaev, in 2013, was shortly released and along with several other politicians joined the protests. He was later rearrested.

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The 65-year-old Atambaev, who denies any wrongdoing, was arrested in August 2019 after he surrendered to police following a deadly two-day standoff between security forces and his supporters.

The move to detain Atambaev was sparked by his refusal to obey three summons to appear at the Interior Ministry for questioning about Batukaev’s release.

The standoff between security forces and his supporters resulted in the death of a top security officer and more than 170 injuries -- 79 of them sustained by law enforcement officers.

Atambaev's other trial linked to the 2019 violence is currently taking place as well. He and 13 others are charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of authorities, hostage taking, and the forcible seizure of power.