Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is on trial in Russia on espionage charges

Yekaterinburg, Russia — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich went on trial behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday, 15 months after his arrest in the Ural Mountains city on espionage charges that he, his employer and the US government vehemently deny.

The 32-year-old journalist appeared in court in a glass cage in front of the defendants, his head shaved and wearing a black and blue checked shirt. A yellow padlock was attached to the cage.

Journalists were allowed into the courtroom for a few minutes before the proceedings closed.

When trials are held in Russia under such conditions, the media, relatives, friends and US embassy staffers are excluded, Reuters news agency points out, adding that closed doors are common in espionage or treason trials in Russia.

The American-born son of immigrants from the USSR, Gershkovich is the first Western journalist arrested in post-Soviet Russia on espionage charges. Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich while he was on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg. They claimed he was collecting classified information for US intelligence.

The State Department has declared him “wrongfully detained,” committing the government to assertively pursue his release.

Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal emphasize that the accusations are unfounded

Jay Conti, executive vice president and general counsel of Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones, described the lawsuit as a sham in an interview with The Associated Press this week.

“He was a recognized journalist who engaged in journalism, and this is a sham trial, false accusations that are completely fabricated,” Conti said.

The Journal has worked hard to keep the issue in the public eye and it has become an issue in the combative months leading up to the US presidential election.

Magazine publisher Almar Latour and editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a statement after his trial date was announced that Gershkovich “is facing a false and unfounded accusation. … The Russian regime’s smearing of Evan is abhorrent, disgusting and based on calculated and transparent lies. Journalism is not a crime.”

“We had hoped to avoid this moment and now expect the US government to redouble its efforts to secure Evan’s release,” the spokespersons said.

Gershkovich’s time behind bars

After his arrest on March 29, 2023, Gershkovich was held in Moscow’s notoriously bleak Lefortovo prison. He appeared healthy during court hearings where his requests for release were rejected.

“Evan does shown remarkable resilience and strength in the face of this grim situation,” US Ambassador Lynne Tracy said on the first anniversary of his arrest.

Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison if the court finds him guilty, which is almost certain. Russian courts convict more than 99 percent of the defendants who appear before them, and prosecutors can appeal sentences they deem too lenient and appeal acquittals.

Moreover, the Russian interpretation of what constitutes espionage is broad. Igor Sutyagin, an arms control expert at a Russian Academy of Sciences think tank, spent 11 years behind bars on espionage charges for passing on material he said was publicly available.

Is there ‘hostage diplomacy’?

The US has accused Russia of “hostage diplomacy,” Reuters notes.

Paul Whelana US corporate security official, was arrested in Moscow in 2018 for espionage and is serving a 16-year prison sentence.

Gershkovich’s arrest came about a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin pushed through laws chilling journalists, criminalizing criticism of what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation.” in Ukraine and statements seen as discrediting the military. Foreign journalists largely left the country after the laws were passed; many trickled back in the following months, but there were concerns about whether Russian authorities would take action against them.

After he was arrested, fears arose that Russia was targeting Americans as hostility between Moscow and Washington grew. Last year, Alsu Kurmasheva, a reporter with dual US-Russian citizenship for the US government-funded Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, arrested for alleged violation of the law requiring so-called “foreign agents” to register.

Another dual citizen, Los Angeles resident Ksenia Karelina, is on trial, also in Yekaterinburg, on charges of treason for allegedly raising money for a Ukrainian organization that supplied weapons and ammunition to Kiev. Several Western reporters were forced to leave after Gershkovich’s arrest because Russia refused to extend their visas.

Now that Gershkovich’s trial has concluded, few details about his case may become public. But the Russian attorney general’s office said this month that he is accused of “collecting secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a factory about 90 miles (150 kilometers) north of Yekaterinburg that produces and repairs tanks and other military equipment .

Uralvagonzavod is not only strategically sensitive, it has also been a nest of fierce pro-Putin sentiment that could offend and alarm a curious American. In 2011, factory manager Igor Kholmanskikh drew national attention to Putin’s annual call-in program by denouncing the mass protests in Moscow at the time. Putin later appointed him as his regional envoy and a member of the National Security Council.

Prisoner exchange possible?

Russia has not ruled it out a prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich but says this is not possible until there is a ruling in his case. This can take months, because Russian trials are often postponed for weeks. The outlook after the verdict is mixed.

Although relations between Russia and the US are highly problematic due to the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin and Washington brokered an exchange in 2022 that released WNBA star Brittney Grinerwho was serving a 9 1/2 year prison sentence for cannabis possession.

But that exchange also freed the United States’ most prized Russian prisoner, arms dealer Viktor Bout, and the U.S. may not have such a strong hand. Putin has hinted at interest in freeing Vadim Krasikov, a Russian jailed in Germany for assassinating a Chechen rebel leader in Berlin, but Germany’s willingness to help in a Russia-U.S. dispute is uncertain.

The Biden administration is also said to be sensitive to the appearance of giving away too much after receiving significant criticism for trading Bout, widely dubbed “the Merchant of Death,” for a sports figure.

But President Biden can feel a stimulus to secure Gershkovich’s release over boasts by former President Donald Trump, his main challenger in this year’s election, that he could easily release the journalist. Putin “will do that for me, but not for anyone else,” Trump claimed in May.

However, the Kremlin says it has had no contact with Trump, and Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Pekov reacted angrily to the attention paid to a possible exchange, saying that “these contacts must take place in total secrecy.”