Russia set to continue espionage trial of US reporter on Aug. 13
A Russian court opened the espionage trial of imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Wednesday, then ordered the next hearing to take place in nearly seven weeks’ time.
Gershkovich and the newspaper have denied Russian Federal Security Service accusations that he was spying for the CIA when he was detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg during a reporting trip in March last year. It’s the first time since the Cold War that Russia has tried a U.S. reporter for alleged espionage, which can carry a 20-year sentence.
The trial at the city’s Sverdlovsk Regional Court is taking place behind closed doors and the next hearing was scheduled for Aug. 13, according to the Interfax news service, which cited the court.
Gershkovich, 32, is all but certain to be convicted.
That could end up paving the way for an eventual swap as Russian officials have said talks on a possible exchange deal could only take place after a court verdict.
It’s unclear how long the whole trial will last or when the verdict will be handed down, though Russian prosecutions almost always end in conviction of the accused.
The trial “is unfair to Evan and a continuation of this travesty of justice that already has gone on for far too long.” WSJ Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker said in a letter to readers published Tuesday. “This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man who would then face up to 20 years in prison for simply doing his job.”
The State Department has formally determined that Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained,” allowing the U.S. to negotiate on his behalf.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a June 5 meeting with foreign media that intelligence services of the two countries were in contact, and that the U.S. was taking energetic steps to secure the reporter’s release.
In an interview with American media personality Tucker Carlson in February, Putin said “certain conditions” were being discussed to release Gershkovich, and alluded to the case of a man he called a “patriot” who was jailed for murder in a European country. That was an apparent reference to Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of a former Chechen rebel in Berlin.
Russia has previously suggested it’s seeking Krasikov’s return in prisoner-swap talks.
The negotiations between the U.S. and Russia on a potential exchange involving Gershkovich aren’t going well so far, three people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as the issue is sensitive.
Russia has claimed it was close to a deal for a prisoner exchange that would have included Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and opposition leader Alexey Navalny until the latter’s Feb. 16 death in an Arctic prison. A Western official in the weeks after the dissident’s death confirmed talks took place but denied an agreement was imminent.
Even before Navalny’s death, Germany was skeptical of the idea of freeing a convicted murderer, another person familiar with the situation said at the time.
Russian-British dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year, is also among the potential candidates for a swap, two people with knowledge of the talks said.
American WNBA star Brittney Griner was exchanged for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in 2022. Whelan remains incarcerated after being sentenced to 16 years in 2020 on spying charges he denies. Whelan was detained in December 2018 while attending a wedding in Moscow.