Closed-Door Trial Of US Journalist Begins In Russia

Journalist Evan Gershkovich has been put on trial by a Russian court – after being held for 15 months behind bars over espionage charges widely denounced as a sham.

- JABED AHMED

The behind closed-doors trial is taking place in Yekaterinburg, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow, the city where he was detained.

Prosecutors claim Mr Gershkovich gathered secret information on the orders of the CIA about a company that manufactures tanks for Russia's war in Ukraine. The charges have been ridiculed by Western nations including the US and UK, while Mr Gershkovich and his employer – The Wall Street Journal – have said that the reporter was only doing his job and have vehemently denied the allegations.

The 32-year-old faces a sentence of up to 20 years if convicted, which is almost certain. Russian courts convict more than 99 per cent of the defendants who come before them. “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 US embassy in Moscow said in a statement, calling for Mr Gershkovich's immediate release.

“This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man,” WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a letter to readers.