Russian Trial Of US Journalist On 'Bogus' Spying Charge Starts Behind Closed Doors

A Russian court has begun a closeddoors trial of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on spying charges that he, his employer and the US government have all described as politically motivated.

- Andrew Roth

Gershkovich appeared in a courtroom in Ekaterinburg yesterday, his head shaved, after being transferred from the Moscow jail where has been held since March 2023.

He is the first American journalist to be arrested in the country on espionage charges since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The proceedings have been closed to the public, as is common in espionage and spying cases, making it illegal for the press to publish any evidence or testimony that is heard in the case.

Vladimir Putin has indicated he wants to trade Gershkovich for Russians serving prison sentences abroad, including an alleged FSB assassin convicted of murder in Germany. The US and Russia have held talks about a prisoner swap but have not come to a deal yet.

Journalists were allowed in briefly to see Gershkovich, who smiled and nodded his head at colleagues as he stood in a glass box reserved for courtroom defendants. The courtroom was then cleared. The maximum sentence is 20 years in prison.

Gershkovich was accredited by the Russian foreign ministry to work in the country, and the Wall Street Journal has said he has been arrested for merely doing his job as a journalist.