Ex-reporter jailed for 22 years in Russia on treason charges

MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow has found a former journalist guilty of treason and sentenced him to 22 years in a maximum security prison. The ruling Monday concluded a trial that has been widely seen as politically motivated. The sentence handed to Ivan Safronov is among the harshest moves against Russian independent journalists and Kremlin critics who have faced mounting pressure in recent years. Safronov worked as a defense and space reporter for a decade before becoming an adviser to the head of the Russian space corporation Roscosmos. Safronov was accused of passing military secrets to Czech intelligence and information about the Russian military to a German national. Safronov insisted on his innocence.