Pablo González Yagüe
Pablo González Yagüe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Pavel Rubtsov 28 April 1982 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Pablo González Yagüe (born Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov;[1] Russian: Павел Алексеевич Рубцов; born 28 April 1982) is a Russian–Spanish journalist. He has worked as an independent journalist for different mediums, specialising in Eastern Europe and ex-Soviet countries. He has covered various conflicts like the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, the war in Donbas and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On February 27, 2022, González was arrested by Polish authorities near the border with Ukraine, and was later accused of being a Russian spy and a GRU agent.[2] After being detained without trial for 886 days, González was released in a prisoner exchange on August 1, 2024.
Biography
[edit]Pablo González Yagüe is a grandson of a Spanish child who was evacuated to the Soviet Union by the Spanish Republic during the Civil War. He was born in Moscow in 1982 and named Pavel Rubtsov.[3] He lived in the Soviet Union until the age of nine, when his mother divorced his father and took her son with her to the Basque Country, where she changed his name by legal process to the Spanish name Pablo González Yagüe. They resided in Bilbao and in Catalonia.[4]
He graduated with a degree in Slavic philology and a master's in strategic studies and international security. As a journalist he has worked with such publications as La Sexta, Público and Gara.[5][6]
Detention in Poland
[edit]Shortly before his arrest, González was present in Przemyśl in Poland near Ukraine's border and has been posting on Twitter about presence of "non-white people" in the wave of refugees escaping the Russian invasion, posing with citizens of Bangladesh and Nigeria who crossed from Ukraine into Poland.[7][better source needed]
According to Polish authorities, Pablo González was detained in the border city of Przemyśl on the night of the 27–28 February 2022 on charges of participating in foreign intelligence activities against Poland. He was accused of being an agent of the Central Department of Russian Intelligence, taking advantage of his role as a journalist to travel around Europe and gather information. This charge carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison.[8] A search of his digital media by police found detailed reports on the activities of former opposition leader Boris Nemtsov's daughter, as well as people from her entourage.[2]
Following his arrest, Polish authorities held him incomunicado. He was unable to communicate with his lawyer Gonzalo Boye or with his family, a practice against which journalists and Spanish politicians protested to the Polish authorities and to the Foreign office of Spain.[9][6] The Committee to Protect Journalists requested the Polish authorities provide him suitable access to legal representation and to a just and transparent procedure.[10]
On September 13, 2022, after 200 days in detention, he brought a case about his prison conditions in front of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, claiming the violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.[11]
On November 22, Polish authorities informed him that his wife could visit him in the prison of Radom where he was being detained.[12] On November 24, the Polish justice announced that it was extending his imprisonment for three months, without making public any evidence against him.[13]
On 1 August 2024, Rubtsov was returned to Russia as part of a multinational exchange of prisoners,[2] arriving to Moscow on 2 August.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ Alberto Sierra (2022-03-28). "El periodista acusado de espionaje en Polonia tiene doble identidad desde hace 30 años". The Objective (in Spanish).
- ^ a b c "Russia exchanges spies for political prisoners: Gershkovich, Kara-Murza, Whelan, Yashin, Kurmasheva, Chanysheva, Orlov released". The Insider (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-08-01.
- ^ "Pablo González: un año en prisión acusado de espiar para Rusia sin que se conozcan las pruebas contra él". eldiario.es. November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ Goyoaga, Ander (March 11, 2022). "El laberinto del periodista 'Pavel' González en Polonia: 12 días sin poder hablar con su abogado". La Vanguardia. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ Garófano, Laura (March 5, 2022). "El periodista español Pablo González, detenido en Polonia, estaba en la lista de prorrusos de Soros". El Español. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ a b "Un compañero de Pablo González asegura que lo que le ocurre al periodista es "inconcebible"". Naiz. March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "Sprawa Pablo G., czyli Przemyśl, Naddniestrze i „rosyjski łącznik Macierewicza"". resetobywatelski (in Polish). 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
- ^ "Agent GRU zatrzymany" (in Polish). Gobierno de Polonia. March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "El periodista Pablo González lleva tres semanas preso en Polonia sin que su familia y su abogado hayan podido contactar con él". Público. March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "Poland charges Spanish freelance reporter with spying for Russia". Committee to Protect Journalists. March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "Pablo González lleva a Estrasburgo su encarcelamiento en Polonia: No puedo ni contactar con mis hijos". Público. September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ "Pablo González recibe la visita de su esposa en la cárcel 8 meses después de su detención en Polonia". Público. November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ "La Justicia polaca prorroga tres meses más la prisión del periodista Pablo González". eldiario.es. November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ Putin recibe a los ocho presos liberados en el canje con Occidente, incluido el periodista español Pablo González, Huffington Post, 2 August 2024.