Trial against US journalist Gershkovich begins in Russia
Later, Gershkovich was taken away. The majority of trials regarding espionage take place behind closed doors. The location where the reporter will be detained until the next hearing, scheduled for August 13, was not disclosed by the Russian Penitentiary Service.
Gershkovich has been in pre-trial detention at Moscow's Lefortovo Prison since March 2023. He is the first Western journalist to be arrested in Russia since the end of the Cold War on espionage charges. At the time of his arrest, the reporter was on a research trip in the city of Yekaterinburg, where his trial is now taking place.
If convicted, the US citizen faces up to 20 years in a penal colony. The 32-year-old denies the accusations against him - as does the US government and his employer, the "Wall Street Journal".
The newspaper described the proceedings against its employee on a Wednesday as a "sham trial". "It's shocking to see him in another courtroom for a sham trial that's being held in secret and based on fabricated charges," editors Almar Latour and Emma Tucker stated. The trial is a "monstrous attack on press freedom".
Gershkovich's family called on US authorities to do everything in their power to secure his release. "Evan is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime," the statement read.
The US Embassy in Moscow posted on social media: "In this trial, it's not about evidence, a fair process, or the rule of law. It's about the Kremlin using a US citizen to achieve its political objectives."
Regarding a potential prisoner swap with Gershkovich, the Kremlin in Moscow initially declined to comment. However, just hours after the trial's opening, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Russia had sent "signals" to the US for a potential agreement. The US government should "take seriously the signals it has received through the appropriate channels," Ryabkov told Russian news agencies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously hinted that Gershkovich could be released in the context of a prisoner swap and mentioned the release of a Russian in Germany as a potential condition.
The Russian prosecutors accuse Gershkovich of working for the US CIA and collecting secret information about a tank manufacturer in the Urals. The Kremlin has publicly presented no evidence for the allegations but has only stated that the reporter was "caught in the act."
There is no evidence to support Russia's allegations, declared Reporters Without Borders. Instead, "all reasons point to the fact that the Kremlin is holding him to facilitate a future prisoner swap," said the US head of the organization.
US-President Joe Biden announced that his administration would "work every day" to bring back journalists. Gershkovich's parents fled to the US from the Soviet Union in the 1970s to escape repressions. The news agency AFP stated they would be counting on "a very personal promise" from Biden.
Gershkovich reported from Russia for six years and remained there even as many other western journalists left the country due to Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. He moved to Moscow in 2017 to work for the small English-language newspaper "The Moscow Times," where he produced some of the paper's biggest stories on a very limited budget.
Subsequently, he worked for AFP before becoming the Moscow correspondent for the "Wall Street Journal" just weeks before the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine. He reported on how the conflict affected ordinary Russians and spoke with the families of dead soldiers.
- Evan Gershkovich, currently detained at Moscow's Lefortovo Prison, is the first Western journalist to be arrested in Russia since the end of the Cold War on espionage charges.
- If convicted, Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in a penal colony, a charge that he, the "Wall Street Journal," the US government, and other US authorities deny.
- The trial of Gershkovich, taking place in Yekaterinburg, is being referred to as a "sham trial" by editors of the "Wall Street Journal," stating it's being held in secret and based on fabricated charges.
- The US Embassy in Moscow has criticized the trial, saying it's not about evidence, a fair process, or the rule of law, but rather the Kremlin using Gershkovich to achieve its political objectives.
- Russian prosecutors have accused Gershkovich of working for the US CIA and collecting secret information about a tank manufacturer in the Urals, though they have yet to produce any evidence.
- Reporters Without Borders have declared that there is no evidence to support Russia's allegations and instead, the Kremlin may be holding Gershkovich to facilitate a future prisoner swap.
- US President Joe Biden has pledged to "work every day" to bring back journalists like Gershkovich, who has been reporting from Russia for six years and remained there despite many other Western journalists leaving due to the Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.
