Detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich faces trial in Russia for alleged espionage offenses, officials announce
Russia's Prosecutor General's office declared on Thursday that it has approved the charges against Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal. He will be put on trial in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals region, where he was arrested in March 2023. This marks the first time since the Cold War that an American journalist has been charged with espionage.
The FSB, Russia's federal security service, claims to have collected evidence that Gershkovich was following CIA instructions during the month of his arrest. They accuse him of gathering "secret information" about a Russian tank factory.
The office released a statement saying, "Gershkovich carried out the illegal actions using painstaking conspiratorial methods."
However, Gershkovich, his employer, and the US government all deny these accusations. Only two weeks after his arrest, the US State Department labelled him "wrongfully detained" and called for his immediate release.
In the past year, Gershkovich, 32, has been held at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, one of Russia's most notorious prisons. His pre-trial detention has been extended multiple times.
This story is still developing and will be updated.
Read also:
Despite international concern and denials from Gershkovich and the US government, Russia continues to push forward with the trial, set to take place in Yekaterinburg, a city in Europe. The global community is closely watching the proceedings and calling for the journalist's release, as tensions between Europe and Russia persist in various disputes.
