Russia arrests space agency employee for giving secrets to NATO country
July 8, 2020 Leave a comment
Russia’s security service has arrested the media advisor to the director of the country’s space agency, accusing him of supplying military secrets to a spy agency of an unnamed Western country. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Tuesday the arrest of Ivan Safronov, a former journalist specializing in military affairs.
Safronov was the military correspondent for the Russian newspaper Kommersant, which is described by some as the Russian equivalent of Britain’s Financial Times. He then worked as a military affairs reporter for Vedomosti, a Moscow-based financial daily, which has a reputation for independence from the Kremlin. He briefly represented the paper in the Kremlin pool of journalists, who accompany the Russian President Vladimir Putin on official trips.
Safronov resigned from Vedomosti last spring, along with several of his colleagues, following a dispute with the newspaper’s management over editorial freedom. In May he was hired by the Russian space agency, the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, where he now works as a media advisor for Dmitry Rogozin, the agency’s director-general.
On Tuesday, the FSB issued a statement to the press saying it had arrested Safronov for carrying out espionage for a foreign country. The statement said Safronov had “collected and surrendered to [the foreign nation’s] representative state secrets and information about military-technical cooperation and about the defense and security of the Russian Federation”. According to the FSB, the person that Safronov is alleged to have shared state secrets with is an intelligence officer of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member state. However, the Russian security agency did not name the country in its statement to the media.
Also on Tuesday, the FSB published video footage showing Safronov being arrested by a group of plainclothes FSB agents outside his Moscow apartment. The agents are seen approaching Safronov and searching him before putting him inside an unmarked van and driving away. He has not been seen in public since, and some have suggested that Russian authorities have not permitted lawyers to contact him.
Following the statement by the FSB, reports in the Russian media claimed that Safronov had been approached repeatedly by security officers in the past and questioned about his work as a journalist. Some of Safronov’s colleagues have said on social media that he was arrested due to his political views, rather than alleged espionage activities. Meanwhile, Roscosmos director Rogozin told Russian media that Safronov did not have access to classified information, so it was unlikely that his arrest was related to his work at the space agency.
Safronov’s trial is expected to take place behind closed doors, due to the nature of the charges he is facing. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 08 July 2020 | Permalink
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Serbia sees foreign spy services behind anti-lockdown rioters who stormed parliament
July 9, 2020 1 Comment
Nationwide lockdown measures to combat the novel coronavirus were lifted on May 6, as the Serbian government sought to limit the effects of the disease on the nation’s economy. However, the reopening of the country appears to have taken place too soon, as virus cases began to spike almost immediately. The situation was not helped by the failure of many people to follow social distancing advice and to wear facemasks. As of last week, hospitals around the country reported being more overwhelmed than in the first two months of the pandemic.
On Tuesday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić addressed the nation and announced the re-imposition of a nationwide lockdown, starting on Friday, July 10, and ending on Monday, July 13. As soon as the president concluded his remarks, a seemingly spontaneous protest began taking shape in downtown Belgrade. News of the protest spread through messages on social media, as people sought to voice disapproval of President Vučić’s decision to re-impose a nationwide lockdown.
Although it began peacefully, the demonstration turned into a riot by nightfall, after it was joined by far-right groups. Many of the demonstrators began shouting slogans against immigrants, against Kosovo, and advocating a link between COVID-19 and 5G cellular networks. Then the rioters stormed past a row of riot police and entered the building of the national parliament. Some of the far-right demonstrators appeared to clash with far-left groups who were also present at the rally. The riot was aired live on many Serbian television stations. Police said over 60 people were injured and 30 were arrested.
On Wednesday, President Vučić addressed the nation again, claiming that Tuesday’s protest had been led by “pro-fascist organizations” and “criminal elements”. He also said that the intelligence services of “foreign powers” had helped promote the demonstration on social media. He did not specify the countries he was referring to. The Serbian president also said the demonstration aimed to weaken his government ahead of a crucial meeting on July 10 with his Kosovar counterpart, Avdullah Hoti , in Paris. Serbian nationalists are opposed to negotiations with Kosovo, which was part of Serbia until it seceded with Western backing in 2008.
The Serbian president concluded his address saying that the nation’s security services “will have to work in a significantly more serious way” than before to address the involvement in national politics by foreign spy agencies.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 09 July 2020 | Permalink
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