Russian-born Spanish journalist Pablo Gonzalez (Pavel Rubtsov), who has been under arrest in Poland since February last year, is suspected of spying on Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. About this writes "Agency" with reference to two sources.
According to a source from the Boris Nemtsov Foundation, Gonzalez met Zhanna in 2016 in Brussels. They became friends, the Spaniard began to be invited to the fund's events. When Gonzalez was detained in Poland, local intelligence agencies examined the digital media confiscated from him and found detailed reports on the activities of Nemtsova and people from her entourage. The journalist was especially interested in the participants of the summer school of journalism from Ukraine and the USA. It is assumed that surveillance was carried out on the instructions of the GRU.
Gonzalez's reports mention people he met through the Nemtsov Foundation, including lawyer Ilya Novikov and opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza. Investigators also found letters from Boris Nemtsov on the media confiscated from the journalist, allegedly copied from his daughter's laptop. Because of this, Gonzalez faces another charge – illegal access to information.
Zhanna Nemtsova refused to answer the Agency's questions, referring to the fact that she had given the Polish authorities a non-disclosure agreement. Nemtsov Foundation co-founder Olga Shorina confirmed that Gonzalez participated in the organization's activities, but assured that he had no access to documents and confidential information.
Pablo Gonzalez was born in the USSR to a Russian and a Spaniard, he has two citizenships. He later moved to Spain with his mother. Since 2014, Gonzalez has been working as a military journalist, covering events in Crimea and Donbass in particular. Shortly before the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the SBU expelled Gonzalez from the country. Soon he was detained in Poland on suspicion of working for Russian intelligence and intending to illegally return to Ukraine.
