Russia starts secret trial for US reporter Evan Gershkovich on spy charges
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Journalists were allowed to film US reporter Evan Gershkovich before the start of the trial, from which the media were barred.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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YEKATERINBURG, Russia – US journalist Evan Gershkovich went on trial behind closed doors on June 26 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, where he faces charges of espionage and a likely sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors say the Wall Street Journal reporter gathered secret information on the orders of the US Central Intelligence Agency
Gershkovich, his newspaper and the US government all reject the allegations and say that he was just doing his job as a reporter accredited by the foreign ministry to work in Russia.
“This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man,” Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a letter to readers.
The US embassy said in a statement: “His case is not about evidence, procedural norms, or the rule of law. It is about the Kremlin using American citizens to achieve its political objectives.”
The Kremlin declined to comment on the opening of the trial. Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “We know that this topic is very, very resonant in the United States, but it is not so resonant within our country.”
After several hours of closed proceedings, the court said the next session would take place on Aug 13 – an indication the case would drag on for months.
Journalists were briefly allowed to film the 32-year-old Gershkovich before the start of the trial, from which the media were barred.
The reporter was shaven-headed, in contrast to previous court appearances, and wore an open-necked shirt. He smiled and nodded at colleagues he recognised.
Prosecutor Mikael Ozdoyev spoke briefly to journalists to summarise the charges.
“Gershkovich carried out the illegal actions while observing painstaking conspiratorial measures,” he said.
Closed trials are standard procedure in Russia for alleged treason or espionage involving classified material.
The lawyers sign non-disclosure agreements, preventing the emergence of any details on Gershkovich’s alleged actions and how he will defend himself.
The Kremlin says the case, and the arrangements for it, are a matter for the court, but has stated – without publishing evidence – that Gershkovich was caught “red-handed”.
Against the background of the Ukraine war, Gershkovich and other Americans detained in Russia have been caught up in the gravest crisis between Moscow and Washington for more than 60 years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is open to the idea of a prisoner exchange
The US has accused Russia of conducting “hostage diplomacy”. It has designated Gershkovich and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, as being “wrongfully detained” and says it is committed to bringing them home.
The US embassy statement said the Russian authorities had failed to provide evidence supporting the charges against Gershkovich or to explain why his work as a journalist constituted a crime.
The trial is taking place in the city of Yekaterinburg, 1,400km east of Moscow, where officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested Gershkovich on March 29, 2023, while he was eating in a steakhouse.
He has spent nearly 16 months in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.
The Wall Street Journal has declined to comment on the purpose of his reporting trip to Russia’s Urals region or on the specific allegation by prosecutors that Gershkovich was trying to gather information on Uralvagonzavod, a supplier of tanks for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“He was there as an accredited journalist, doing his job,” Wall Street Journal publisher Almar Latour told Reuters in a phone interview before the trial.
Many Western news organisations pulled staff out of Russia after Mr Putin sent his army into Ukraine
Russia then passed laws that set long prison terms for “discrediting” the armed forces or spreading “fake news” about them.
Gershkovich was one of a small number of Western reporters, which also includes journalists from Reuters, who continued to report from inside Russia.
Russia said in the first weeks after his arrest that any exchange could take place only after a trial.
The Kremlin spokesman, Mr Peskov, reiterated on June 26 that contact with the US on a possible deal required “silence” and Moscow would not speak publicly about them. REUTERS
