The closed-door trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia for alleged espionage will begin on June 26, the regional court in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals federal district said on Monday.
“The trial will take place behind closed doors,” the court said in a statement, according to the Tass agency, meaning the public will not be present.
The American journalist has been charged with collecting information last year on behalf of the CIA, the American intelligence service, about the production and repair of defense technology. The target of the alleged espionage was the Uralvagonzavod company in the city of Nizhny Tagil in the Urals.
Gershkovich, his employer and the US government reject this accusation. The Russian side has not made public any evidence in the proceedings so far. The correspondent was detained in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 during a research trip to the Urals. He was held in Moscow during his pre-trial detention.
Gershkovich is seen as a bargaining chip that Moscow can use to put pressure on the US government. Yekaterinburg, the capital of Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, is located almost 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow.
