A former Russian journalist has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in what his supporters say is another chilling crackdown on press freedom.
Ivan Safronov, an ex-defence reporter for the Kommersant newspaper, was detained in July 2020 for allegedly passing state secrets to the Czech Republic.
The 32-year-old, who strongly denies the charges, rejected a plea deal from authorities last month, which would have seen him serve 12 years in jail.
