The Sverdlovsk Regional Court has reported that the case of The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, will be considered in closed mode.
The trial of the journalist, as noted in the press service of the court, will begin on June 26. Earlier, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office approved the indictment in the criminal case against the journalist. The preliminary investigation was conducted by the investigative department of the FSB.
Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for the publication, was detained in Yekaterinburg a year ago and is still in custody in a Russian prison.
According to the investigation, in March 2023, Gershkovich "on assignment from the CIA" allegedly collected in the Sverdlovsk region secret information about the activities of the Uralvagonzavod enterprise for the production and repair of military equipment. The details of the accusation are not given. Under the article on espionage, the journalist faces 12 to 20 years in prison.
"US special services are using journalists as their agents," this is how Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described journalist Evan Gershkovich.
The U.S. leadership and The Wall Street Journal categorically reject the charges and declare the journalist's innocence, calling for his immediate release.
In April 2023, the U.S. State Department declared Hershkovich "wrongfully detained," which gives the agency grounds to act for the release of the U.S. citizen.
Gershkovich had been living in Moscow for more than six years at the time of his arrest, covering Russia and Ukraine for The Wall Street Journal. Previously, he worked for Agency France-Presse, The Moscow Times and The New York Times.
