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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Andrew Roth in Moscow

Russian journalist facing 24-year jail term for treason refuses to sign ‘confession’

Ivan Safronov
Defiant Ivan Safronov at a court hearing in Moscow in 2020. His supporters believe he may have been targeted for revealing plans for a sale of 20 Su-35 fighter jets to Egypt for $2bn. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

Moments before the journalist Ivan Safronov was told he would be facing 24 years in prison, a Russian prosecutor offered him a deal.

Sign a confession, she said during a final courtroom break, and she would recommend a 12-year sentence instead. Safronov answered immediately.

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