United States criticizes Russia's covert trial of reporter Evan Gershkovich, held behind closed doors.
Evan Gershkovich, aged 32, was apprehended while working for the Wall Street Journal, which he joined in January 2022, mere weeks prior to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite numerous newsrooms evacuating their reporters from Russia, Gershkovich persisted, covering the ongoing conflict and its impact on life within Russia.
His trial is unfolding in the city of Yekaterinburg, the location of his arrest more than a year ago. Russian authorities allege that he was spying for the CIA under orders from the agency, and that he collected sensitive information about a Russian tank factory using elaborate covert tactics.
The American government, the WSJ, and Gershkovich himself have all vehemently denied these accusations. Following his arrest in March 2023, the US State Department labelled him as wrongfully detained and demanded his immediate release within two weeks.
Gershkovich's trial, involving the American-born child of Soviet migrants residing in the US, has underscored the severe harm Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused to its relationship with the US.
The trial commenced at 11 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) in Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg, taking place within closed doors. The trial is anticipated to last for several months, and if found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
No reporters, friends, family members, or US embassy personnel are allowed in the courtroom during the trial.
Footage from Wednesday morning portrayed Gershkovich appearing in court in Yekaterinburg ahead of the trial set to begin imminently behind closed doors.
Prior to the trial, State Department representative Matthew Miller stated that the US "certainly" does not expect Gershkovich to receive a fair and impartial trial due to the arbitrary charges against him.
Embassy personnel plan to travel to Yekaterinburg, over 800 miles from Moscow, and attempt to attend the trial.
Since his arrest, Gershkovich has been confined in Moscow's infamous Lefortovo prison. Despite spending the majority of his time in a small cell, he has occupied himself by writing letters to friends and family, according to his parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, in a recent interview with the WSJ.
“He’s navigating as well as he can, confined within a small space, with just an hour of outdoor exercise each day – six steps, six steps, six steps,” Milman said, demonstrating a small courtyard with her finger. “He’s been practicing meditation, reading extensively, answering letters, andHis understanding of the Russian language and culture has aided him in adapting to the situation.”
In a letter to WSJ readers, his family stated that the last year has been "unbearable."
“It has felt like holding our breath. We have been constantly preoccupied with thoughts of Evan throughout every second of every day,” the family wrote.
Political 'pieces'
Following Russian prosecutors' approval of Gershkovich’s indictment earlier this month, WSJ Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker insisted he was confronting a “false and baseless” charge.
“Russia's latest move towards a sham trial is, albeit anticipated, still disheartening and unfair. Evan has been unjustly detained in a Russian prison for an astonishing 441 days, simply for doing his job. Evan is a journalist. The Russian regime's smear campaign against Evan is repugnant, revolting, and founded on deliberate and transparent falsehoods. Journalism is not criminal. Evan's case is an affront to press freedom,” Tucker said in a statement.
In his State of the Union address in March – with Gershkovich's parents in attendance – US President Joe Biden stated that his administration was making continuous efforts “to bring home Evan” and other detained "Americans all across the globe."
The number of Americans incarcerated in Russia has expanded significantly in recent years. Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, was apprehended in Moscow in December 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on spying charges, which he has consistently and vehemently denied. The US State Department has also classified him as wrongfully detained.
After reaching another grim milestone last week, surpassing 2,000 days in Russian custody, Whelan told CNN he has invested an "overwhelming amount of time" in detention "for a crime that never transpired" as he urged the Biden administration to take "decisive action" to release him and Gershkovich.
Brittney Griner – the basketball player who previously played in Russia during the WNBA offseason – was taken into custody in Russia and sentenced to nine years in prison after law enforcement discovered cannabis oil in her luggage.
After spending nearly 300 days behind bars, Griner was freed in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” by his critics. A former Soviet military officer, Bout was serving a 25-year sentence in the US on charges of conspiring to kill Americans, procuring and exporting anti-aircraft missiles, and providing material support to a terrorist organization – accusations he and the Kremlin refuted.
Western officials and analysts have accused Russia of using detained Americans as political pawns. Discussing the case of Ksenia Karelina – a US-Russian dual citizen also on trial in Yekaterinburg following allegations of donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity – Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov told CNN that Russia aims "to amass a collection of hostages with American passports," which it can leverage "during negotiations with Washington."
During a chat with famed American conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, Russian leader Vladimir Putin hinted at the possibility of swapping Gershkovich, imprisoned in Russia due to allegations, for Vadim Krasikov – a Russian ex-spy convicted of cold-blooded murder in broad daylight in Berlin back in 2019.
Putin shared, "Mate, there's a lad in another country, a country buddy-buddy with the USA, who took out a scoundrel in one of the major European cities."
Reporters from the Wall Street Journal inquired if Gershkovich's mother, Ella Milman, felt her son was being manipulated for political reasons, and she firmly agreed, "Absolutely."
Her husband, Mikhail, chimed in saying, "We're certain he's not guilty of what they're accusing him of. He's a journalist."
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Despite international criticism, Russia continues its proceedings against Evan Gershkovich, with his trial taking place in Europe, specifically in the city of Yekaterinburg. The United States has expressed worry about the fairness of the trial given the alleged arbitrariness of the charges against him.
The continued detention of Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist, has strained relations between the United States and Europe, particularly in light of his trial in Russia, where he stands accused of espionage.
