Ex-journalist loses latest appeal against treason sentence in Russia

FILE PHOTO: Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and an aide to the head of Roscosmos space corporation, convicted of treason, attends a court hearing to consider an appeal against his 22-year prison sentence, in Moscow, Russia December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/file photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Russian defence reporter Ivan Safronov lost his latest appeal on Wednesday against a 22-year jail sentence on charges of treason, a Reuters reporter at the Supreme Court said.

Safronov, a former reporter for the Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers who later worked as an adviser to the head of Russia's space agency, was arrested in 2020 and accused of disclosing classified information.