Russia: Trial of journalist Evan Gershkovich resumes

The trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Yekaterinburg in late March 2023 for “espionage” reporting, resumed behind closed doors on Thursday in Yekaterinburg, where he was arrested for “espionage” reporting, an allegation never confirmed by Russia.

The hearing, the second since the trial opened on June 26, began in the Ural city late in the morning, a court spokesman told AFP reporters present.

No other information was disclosed and the entire proceeding was shrouded in secrecy. The Wall Street Journal reporter and former correspondent for AFP’s Moscow bureau has been detained for nearly 16 months.

He, his employer, his relatives and his country have all vehemently denied the espionage charges against him, which are punishable by 20 years in prison, while Russian authorities have taken pains not to reveal the contents of the documents they claim constitute a conspiracy.

Advanced Listening

The hearing, originally scheduled for August, was postponed until Thursday at the request of the defense. It was closed to the public, and unlike previous hearings, reporters were unable to see the defendants in the room before the proceedings began. For Washington, the arrest of Evan Gershkovich, 32, was first and foremost about making money from a possible prisoner swap.

Moscow has acknowledged that negotiations are ongoing for his release, and Russian President Vladimir Putin himself has mentioned the case of Vadim Krasikov, who is in a German prison following an assassination commissioned by Russian special forces.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said only on Wednesday at the United Nations headquarters in New York that contacts were being made “to see if it is possible to exchange someone for someone,” state agency TASS reported.

The imprisonment of Evan Gershkovich, the first Western journalist to be charged with espionage in Russia since Soviet times, has sparked a huge wave of solidarity in the American and European media.

In late June, the White House denounced a “sham” trial, reiterating that Evan Gershkovich “never worked for the U.S. government,” “is not a spy,” and “should never have been arrested.”

‘Arbitrary’ detention

On June 26, the first day of his trial, Evan Gershkovich appeared in court with a shaved head, a hairstyle typical of prisoners, but still smiling inside the glass cage reserved for defendants. Although he could not make any statements, he gestured to people he knew.

He communicates with family and loved ones through letters that are read and reviewed by the prison administration. In those letters, he says he is keeping his spirits high, awaiting his verdict and hoping to see the sky more, all with a touch of humor.

The journalist, the child of immigrants who fled the Soviet Union for the United States, settled in Russia in 2017. He is known for the quality and professionalism of his reporting. In early July, a UN panel of experts ruled that his detention was “arbitrary” and that he should be released “immediately.”

Collection of Sensitive Information

Investigators are convinced that Evan Gershkovich, who worked for AFP in Moscow from 2020 to 2021, collected sensitive information for the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, one of Russia’s main weapons manufacturers.

The plant mainly produces T-90 tanks and the new generation Armata tanks used in Ukraine, while its civilian activities include the production of trucks.

Russia also holds several other Americans, including Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was arrested in 2023 for violating “foreign agent” laws, and former Marine Paul Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage on controversial charges.

AFP

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