Watchdog

MOSCOW -- A court in Moscow has sentenced Ivan Safronov, a prominent former journalist, to 22 years in prison in a high-profile treason case highlighting the Kremlin's crackdown on the media.

The Moscow City Court sentenced Safronov on September 5 after finding him guilty of handing secret materials to foreign agents in a case that is widely considered to be politically motivated.

The verdict and sentence came the same day that several independent media outlets issued a statement demanding all charges against Safronov be dropped and the journalist be released. The statement was titled Journalism Is Not A Crime.

It also came the same day the Basmanny district court revoked the print license of the independent Novaya gazeta newspaper, which was founded in part with money from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

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Last week, the Russian investigative group Proyekt (Project) concluded that the treason charges against Safronov were "baseless." Proyekt said its conclusion was based on official accusation papers against Safronov that the group published on August 29.

Safronov has repeatedly denied accusations that he passed documents to Czech secret service agent Martin Laris about Russian arms sales in the Middle East in 2017, and of handing unspecified classified information to German secret service agent Demuri Voronin.

Safronov's supporters have held pickets in Moscow and other cities demanding his release.

Proyekt studied the accusation papers from investigators and concluded that they had not found a single Russian official who could have handed Safronov any materials or information that could be defined as classified.

Furthermore, Proyekt said it also could not find any evidence proving that Czech journalist Laris and German political analyst Voronin had any links to the secret services of the two European Union and NATO members.

Even if Laris and Voronin were secret service agents, there is no proof that Safronov could be aware of that, Proyekt said, adding that investigators failed to prove that Safronov had received money from the two named persons while the information mentioned by investigators as secret is publicly available online.

Safronov, who was arrested in July 2020, went on trial behind closed doors in early April.

The 32-year-old journalist, 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.

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

ASHGABAT -- In an apparent move to curb the presence of Turkmen human rights activists in Turkey, Ashgabat has officially asked Ankara to "temporarily" require visas for Turkmen nationals.

In an official statement issued over the weekend, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said the move was made "to improve and systematize regulations for the stay of Turkmen citizens in the Republic of Turkey."

Currently, Turkmen citizens can stay in Turkey without a visa for 30 days. However, it is easy for Turkmen to extend their legal stay in the country by obtaining work permits or long-term visas while in the country.

According to the Turkish State Migration Service, as of September 1, there were about 230,000 Turkmen citizens permanently residing in the country. However, many unofficial sources say the number may be several times higher as there are many illegal Turkmen immigrants there.

The Turkmen Foreign Ministry's request comes less than three months after a group of Turkmen nationals in Turkey filed a lawsuit against former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and other top officials of the isolated and tightly controlled Central Asian nation, accusing them of violating their human rights.

Last month, five Turkmen rights activists were attacked on the territory of the Turkmen Consulate in Istanbul as they tried to submit a letter addressed to President Serdar Berdymukhammedov to protest the human rights situation in the energy-rich former Soviet republic.

For many years, Turkmen citizens residing in Turkey have faced problems renewing their Turkmen passports and obtaining documents required by Turkish immigration authorities.

Turkmen nationals permanently residing in Turkey have also complained that they have been subjected to pressure by Turkmen authorities in Turkey.

Turkmenistan is one of the most repressive countries in the world.

In 2020, dozens of Turkmen activists residing abroad staged protests in Turkey, the United States, and the European Union to urge the international community to pay more attention to the situation regarding human rights and civil liberties in Turkmenistan.