Ivan Safronov, convicted of espionage, was dismissed from the post of adviser to the head of Roscosmos

Roscosmos State Corporation has dismissed Ivan Safronov, former special correspondent of the Kommersant and Vedomosti publishing houses, from the post of adviser to the head. The reason was the entry into force of the verdict in the case of a journalist convicted of treason.

He was fired “in connection with the conviction to a punishment that excludes the continuation of the previous work,” the RIA Novosti agency quotes a statement from the state corporation. In the case of treason, 32-year-old Safronov was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Safronov was fired from “Kommersant” after the publication of the possible resignation of Valentina Matviyenko from the post of chairman of the Federation Council, and left “Vedomosti” along with most of the team that accused the new editor-in-chief of the newspaper of political censorship. After that, he went to work at Roscosmos, two months later he was detained by the FSB.

Safronov denies guilt in treason, it follows from the case materials that he is being prosecuted for his journalistic work, his defense and supporters insist. As a journalist, he wrote about the military-industrial complex and became the author of many high-profile publications. The Russian human rights project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” recognized him as a political prisoner.