I had first met González, a freelance journalist from the Basque Country, on a training course for reporters who work in conflict zones. Now we had run into each other in a place that was threatening to turn into one.
González was with a Ukrainian journalist, who had contacts at the besieged military base I was on my way to scope out. He arranged for the three of us to slip inside, where we found a detachment of Ukrainian marines on edge. Outside, an angry crowd of locals was yelling pro-Russian slogans, but these people were just cover for the Russian army, the marines said. They were expecting an imminent visit from a Russian general, and agreed that we could leave a Dictaphone on the base, for them to covertly record the conversation.
Some time later, I received audio of the emotional encounter that followed, in which a man identifying himself as a senior general in the Russian army gave the marines an ultimatum to surrender, prompting furious protests. The recording was hard evidence that Vladimir Putin's denials of Moscow's coordinating role in Crimea were nonsense. It felt like listening to a piece of history unfold in real time.
I was grateful to González for helping me get the story, but after that day I never saw him again.
Eight years later, in the early hours of 28 February 2022, González was arrested in the Polish city of Przemyśl. It was a few days after the start of the latest and most brutal episode in Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the first moments of which we had witnessed back on the Crimean base. A terse statement from Polish authorities said that González was suspected of "participation in the activities of a foreign intelligence service". They claimed he was an agent of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency. He faced up to 10 years in prison.
Denne historien er fra October 25, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 25, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Beauty, shock and horror
At the British Museum, Hew Locke places his work alongside art and artefacts plundered by colonisers from the peoples and cultures they destroyed
Sleep on it pon
Everyone wants a good night's rest-but the more you obsess over it, the more elusive it becomes. Anita Chaudhuri enters the nightmarish, data-driven world of orthosomnia
JOURNALIST OR RUSSIAN SPY? THE STRANGE CASE OF PABLO GONZÁLEZ
while reporting on Russia's covert operation to annex Crimea, I spotted a familiar figure. With his muscular build and shiny shaved head, Pablo González was easy to recognise from afar.
'My hero' Worldwide solidarity for Pelicot's courage
She has been hailed as a feminist hero across France, commended for her courage at rallies across the country and applauded by supporters each time she has entered or left the courtroom in the southern city of Avignon.
Revealed The international 'race science' network funded by US tech boss
Group promoting 'dangerous' scientific racism ideology teamed up with German rightwing extremist, secret recordings show
Residents count cost of a climate risk hotspot
Damage to northern region ignites debate in acountry where just 6% are insured against natural disaster
A new England The next coach is German and it really, really doesn't matter
While objectivity has never had much place in English football, Thomas Tuchel's appointment as the new national team coach represents a significant departure in two obvious ways.
Are Earth's carbon sinks collapsing?
Scientists fear that as it heats up, the planet is losing its natural ability to absorb CO2 through oceans, forests and soil
UK is waging proxy war, says Russian ambassador
Moscow's ambassador to London has said the UK is waging a proxy war against Russia while predicting the \"end of Ukraine\".
Small and lethal Adapted drones carrying explosives 'hunt' civilians
Sasha Ustenko has survived three attacks by the Russian drones that stalk the streets of Kherson carrying fragmentation grenades to drop on anything that moves.
