Political scientist Demuri Voronin sentenced to 13 years in prison

A Moscow court has sentenced political scientist Demuri Voronin to 13 years and 3 months in prison, Interfax reports. The court found Voronin guilty of treason.

The political scientist was jailed in February 2021. Voronin was implicated in part of the case against journalist Ivan Safronov, who was also convicted of treason. According to Interfax, both men were involved in transferring allegedly secret information.

According to the prosecution, Safronov passed Voronin information about Russian Federation Armed Forces activities in Syria, which Voronin then passed on to the University of Zurich, in Switzerland, and Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service.

Voronin’s defense has not commented on the case. Safronov’s lawyers said Voronin initially admitted his guilt, but then changed his story in court.

In September 2022, Safronov was sentenced to 22 years in prison for treason. Safronov pleaded not guilty. Safronov’s defense maintains that the information in question was in the public domain, and that the case against Safronov is political persecution.