MOSCOW (RUSSIA) – A former scribe working as an aide to the head of Russia’s space agency was detained on Tuesday on charges of treason. If proved guilty, he could face up to two decades in prison.
The Russian government said Ivan Safronov’s arrest was not linked to his work at Roscosmos, where he is an advisor to General Director Dmitry Rogozin.
The RIA news agency quoted the FSB Security Service as saying Safronov worked for the foreign intelligence service of an unspecified NATO member state, secretly transferring highly classified military information.
Safronov, who joined Roscosmos in May, is slated to be produced in court later on Tuesday.
Earlier, he worked for Russian newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti.
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