The trial of American journalist Evan Gerskovich has begunwho is imprisoned in Moscow on charges of espionage.
The US Embassy in Moscow today called on Russian authorities to immediately release Gershkovich.
“We have made it clear from the beginning that Evan committed no crime and should never have been arrested,” the US embassy said in a statement on social media, calling for the “immediate” release of the journalist who has been detained in Russia for several years. almost 16 months, as well as that of fellow American Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018.
Prisoner exchange?
The Kremlin however, it declined to comment today on a possible prisoner exchange with the US.
Moscow recently said it was waiting for a response from Washington to a proposal it said it had made for a prisoner swap, without however publicly releasing details.
These issues require public silence and the world should first await the verdict in this case, the Kremlin also noted today.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also said, just hours after the start of the American journalist’s trial, that the US should “seriously” study Moscow’s “signals” about the prisoner exchange.
“The US government, which shows so much interest and activity regarding the fate of Mr. Gershovitch, should at the same time take seriously the signals that Washington receives through the appropriate channels,” Ryabkov noted, according to his statements cited by the Russian. Interfax news agency.
A long process
American journalist Evan Gershkovich appeared in court today at the start of his trial behind closed doors in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage, which he denies.
Prosecutors today told a court that there is evidence that the Wall Street Journal reporter collected confidential information about a Russian defense company on behalf of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
“From the investigation it was established and documented that the American journalist from The Wall Street Journal Gershkovich under instructions from the CIA (…) collected confidential information about the activities of a defense operation related to the production and repair of military equipment in the region of Sverdlovsk region,” he told reporters from then-prosecutor Mikael Ozdojev.
Gershovitch, his newspaper and the US government deny the allegations and say he was just doing his job as a journalist accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry to work there.
If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
After several hours of hearings, the court announced that the next hearing will be held on August 13, a sign that the trial will drag on for months. The reason for the long delay before the trial continued was not clarified.
Authorities today allowed journalists to briefly film the 32-year-old American journalist before the start of his trial, which is closed to the media.
Gershkowitz, with his head shaved, stood inside a glass cage and silently waved “hello” to reporters he recognized, according to AFP reporters.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, Gershkowitz and other American prisoners in Russia were caught up in the most serious crisis between Moscow and Washington in more than 60 years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is open to the idea of a prisoner exchange, including Gershkovich, and that contacts have been made with the US but must remain confidential.
The US accuses Russia of conducting hostage diplomacy. They called the detention of Gerskovich and another American prisoner in Russia, Paul Whelan, illegal and say they are committed to repatriating them.
The American journalist’s trial takes place in Yekaterinburg, where agents from the Russian FSB security service arrested him on March 29, 2023, while he was eating in a restaurant. Since then, he has been detained for almost 16 months in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.
The Wall Street Journal declined to comment on the purpose of his press trip to Russia’s Ural region or on prosecutors’ specific accusation that he was trying to gather information about Uralvagonzavod, a supplier of tanks for Russia’s war in Ukraine. .
“He was there as a credentialed journalist, doing his job,” Wall Street Journal editor Almar Latour told Reuters.
And the Wall Street Journal, which first subject the closed-door trial of his journalist, notes that “the process lacks due process, at a time of growing tensions between Washington and Moscow”.
Sources: AFP, Reuters, APE-MPE, Wall Street Journal