Politics Russia: Espionage trial against US reporter Gershkovich underway
In Russia, the trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned for more than a year for alleged espionage, has begun in Yekaterinburg in the Urals.
26.06.2024, 15:35
SDA
According to Russian agencies, the first session took place on Wednesday in camera. The media were only allowed to photograph the defendant in a glass cage in the hearing room at the start of the trial.
The hearing lasted several hours and the second session was postponed until August 13. The remaining days of the trial will also take place behind closed doors.
According to the Russian General Prosecutor's Office, Gershkovich is alleged to have collected secret information on behalf of the US secret service CIA. It was about the production and repair of armaments at the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil. Gershkovich had followed all the rules of conspiracy in his illegal activities, it was said. Gershkovich, who was arrested in March 2023 during a research trip, and his employer, the Wall Street Journal, have denied the allegations.
The newspaper's editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, wrote in a commentary on the start of the trial: "To even call it a trial is unfair to Evan and a continuation of this judicial farce that has already gone on far too long". The Kremlin is cracking down on independent reporting and has "practically turned journalism into a crime".
Russia does not allow the presumption of innocence to apply to the US reporter, nor has any evidence been presented. "This false accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to the wrongful conviction of an innocent man," Tucker continued. Gershkovich had done a good job. Now he faces up to 20 years in prison. The Wall Street Journal will continue to tell Evan's story until he can tell it himself.
US government: indictment lacks any basis
The US government also reacted strongly to the unproven allegations. "The charges have no basis whatsoever," said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in Washington. "Journalism is not a crime. The charges against him are false, and the Russian government knows they are false. He should be released immediately."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov dismissed the accusations as "counterproductive attempts to politicize the process". If Washington was really interested in Gershkovich's fate, the US administration should criticize less vociferously and instead "pay serious attention to the signals they have received in Washington through appropriate channels."
The Kremlin did not want to comment on the trial or allegedly ongoing negotiations on a prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich. Such issues can only be resolved quietly, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. The detention of US citizens in Russia often leads to complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington about a release or exchange. Despite the tense Russian-American relations, there have been repeated prisoner exchanges in the past.
