Russian Journalist Safronov's Appeal Against Extension Of Detention Denied

MOSCOW -- A court in Moscow has rejected an appeal against the extension of the pretrial detention of Ivan Safronov, a prominent former journalist accused of high treason in a case widely considered to be politically motivated.

The first court of appeals of common jurisdiction in the Russian capital ruled on February 10 that the Moscow City Court's December decision to extend Safronov's pretrial detention until at least April 7, 2022, cannot be changed.

The 31-year-old journalist, who covered the defense industry for the newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti, is also a former adviser to the head of Russian space agency Roskosmos, Dmitry Rogozin.

Safronov was arrested on July 7, 2020, amid allegations he had passed secret information to the Czech Republic in 2017 about Russian arms sales in the Middle East.

If convicted he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Investigators have set February 11 as the deadline for Safronov and his defense team to get acquainted with the materials of the case.

Safronov's lawyers have complained that they do not have enough time to get acquainted with the case as investigators allocated just two hours per day to work with the case materials and do not allow them to take any notes, saying that the case materials are classified.

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.

One of Safronov's defenders, noted lawyer Ivan Pavlov, fled to Georgia last year after Russian authorities launched a probe against him, accusing him of disclosure of data from the journalist's case.

Pavlov was also included to the Russian registry of "foreign agents," which he vehemently condemned, calling it politically motivated.

On February 10, Pavlov wrote on Telegram that the Chamber of Attorneys in St. Petersburg concluded that he cannot legally represent Safronov because he himself is under investigation and his name was added to the country's wanted list.