US reporter returns to Russian court on spy charges
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has appeared in court in Russia for the second hearing in his trial on espionage charges that he, his employer and the US government vehemently deny.
The court said Gershkovich appeared on Thursday for his trial, which is taking place behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains where the 32-year-old journalist was detained while on a reporting trip.
At the first hearing in June, the court had adjourned until mid-August.
But Gershkovich’s lawyers petitioned the court to hold the second hearing earlier, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and independent news site Mediazona reported Tuesday, citing court officials.
Gershkovich’s employer and US officials have denounced the trial as sham and illegitimate.
“Evan has never been employed by the United States government. Evan is not a spy. Journalism is not a crime. And Evan should never have been detained in the first place,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said last month.
Authorities arrested Gershkovich on March 29, 2023, and claimed without offering any evidence that he was gathering secret information for the US.
The Russian prosecutor-general’s office said in June the journalist was accused of “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a plant north of Yekaterinburg that produces and repairs tanks and other military equipment.
Gershkovich is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Russia has signalled the possibility of a prisoner swap involving Gershkovich, but it says a verdict – which could take months – would have to come first.
Even after a verdict, it still could take months or years.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed American journalists on Wednesday for helping to delay talks with his US counterparts about a possible prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich.
Lavrov told a UN news conference that confidential negotiations were “ongoing”.
Gershkovich is almost certain to be convicted.
Russian courts convict more than 99 per cent of the defendants who come before them, and prosecutors can appeal sentences they regard as too lenient, and they even can appeal acquittals.
The American-born son of immigrants from the USSR, Gershkovich is the first Western journalist arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia.
The State Department has declared him “wrongfully detained”, thereby committing the government to assertively seek his release.
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