The February 2022 arrest by Polish authorities of Pablo Gonzalez, a Spanish journalist accused of spying for Russia, could not have taken place if Polish services did not have strong evidence against the detainee, retired Spanish infantry general Vicente Diaz told the Villegas to PAP. As revealed by independent Russian journalists, Gonzales could be controlled by the GRU, or Russian military intelligence.
In the opinion of the commander, who in the past led operations in the context of peacekeeping missions in the Balkans, the argument of being a journalist cannot put anyone above the law.
I suppose the Polish authorities have evidence against this man, therefore his arrest is justified
said General Diaz de Villegas.
He stressed that the work of a journalist, consisting of “providing information to the public, requires accountability and truth”.
If he secretly concentrates his activities for one country at the expense of others, then he must bear the consequences
said the general.
The case of Pablo Gonzalez, who has been detained since February 2022, has received a lot of comment in the Spanish media. Last Wednesday, Maribel Martinez, representative of the organization “FreePabloGonzalez”, received the Freedom of Speech Award given to Gonzalez by the Union of Journalists of Valencia (UPV).
The Madrid daily “El Mundo” revealed in the text “Suspicions of the journalist Pablo Gonzalez” that the Spaniard had been under surveillance for many years by the milieu associated with the opposition to the Kremlin foundation of Zhanna Nemtsova, daughter of Boris Nemtsov, killed in 2015 in Moscow by an opponent of Vladimir Putin. Citing the independent Russian portal Agientstwo, the daily wrote that Pablo Gonzalez had been collecting information about people of the Russian opposition living outside Russia for years, including Nemtsov’s daughter.
Polish authorities found messages about Niemcowa and her foundation in Pablo Gonzalez’s phone. Boris Nemtsov
– wrote “El Mundo”, adding that the information on this subject comes from two sources.
The Madrid newspaper noted that Gonzalez, who worked for the regional newspaper Gara, close to the ideas of the left and Basque nationalism, met Nemtsova in Brussels in 2016. From that moment on, he would constantly be the daughter of the murdered oppositionist and other people of the Nemtsov foundation.
In an interview with “El Mundo” Olga Szorina, co-founder of the Foundation. Boris Nemtsov confirmed that Gonzalez, who was born in the Soviet Union and also holds a Russian passport, regularly appeared at events organized by the Russian opposition community.
At first we suspected nothing (…), but later we were surprised that a journalist from a small Basque magazine travels so much
– said Shorina, adding that in conversations with Gonzalez, it was felt that his political beliefs were not very favorable to the Russian opposition.
Niemcowa Foundation
“El Mundo,” citing a source at the Nemcow Foundation, said that Polish services found in Gonzalez’s computer and phone reports about this organization and people the Basque newspaper journalist met thanks to the foundation. Among them was a lawyer, for example. Ilya Novikov and a well-known Russian oppositionist Vladimir Kara-Murza, currently imprisoned in one of the Russian prisons.
The Spanish daily quoted the Agency as saying Gonzalez worked methodically preparing reports that were not journalistic in nature.
Two sources (…) reported that Pablo Gonzalez was probably an agent of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency, who was monitoring Zhanna Nemtsova’s surroundings
wrote the newspaper.
The agency also reported that in connection with expenses for activities in the Niemcowa area, the journalist would request an unspecified source to cover the costs incurred by him.
The Russian portal reported that Moscow-born Gonzalez, the son of a Russian, Alexey Rubtsov, a former employee of the RBK television administration, divided his reports into three parts: a description of the meetings held, estimated expenses and planned actions in the future . Gonzalez’s belongings include: letters written by Borys Nemtsov, probably stolen from his daughter’s computer, as well as a description of a summer school for journalists organized by a foundation headed by Zhanna Nemtsova.
When asked by PAP about the campaign conducted by some Spanish media for the arrest of Pablo Gonzalez in Poland, General Diaz de Villegas viewed this kind of media involvement negatively. He pointed out that the text published in “El Mundo” on Wednesday clearly describes the activity of a Spanish citizen detained in Poland.
In my opinion, the material clearly indicates (…) that this man is a cop
– summarized the Spanish commander.
Gonzales, whose Russian passport name is Paweł Rubcow, was arrested in Przemyśl on February 28, 2022, four days after the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
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mly/PAP
Source: wPolityce