Russia is putting the Wall Street Journal correspondent on trial behind closed doors for alleged espionage. Despite the verdict, his fate could soon change.
The Russian judiciary has sentenced US reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years of strict imprisonment in a controversial trial for alleged espionage. Russian news agencies reported this from the court in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals. The verdict was sharply criticized internationally. US President Joe Biden promised that the US government would continue to fight for Gershkovich’s release.
On the third day of the trial, which was held in camera, the court found that espionage had been proven. Gershkovich, who worked as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Russia, the US newspaper itself and the US government have always rejected the accusations as baseless. Gershkovich stuck to this in court. “The defendant has not admitted guilt,” said a court spokeswoman. Washington is demanding his release.
The 32-year-old US reporter was arrested in March 2023. The Russian domestic intelligence service FSB brought the espionage charges against him. According to the prosecution, he is said to have secretly collected information about the Uralvagonzavod arms factory on behalf of the US secret service CIA. The defense said Gershkovich had been researching in the region as a journalist. In its plea, the prosecution demanded 18 years of strict camp imprisonment.
Last US correspondent arrested as a spy during Soviet times
The Gershkovich case is unprecedented in recent Russian history. Since the end of the Soviet Union, not a single Western journalist has been behind bars for espionage. Gershkovich has spent most of his pre-trial detention, which has lasted for more than a year, in a Moscow prison. He repeatedly appealed against the extension of his sentence, but without success.
In a statement, Biden rejected the conviction as unlawful. Gershkovich was targeted by the Russian government “because he is a journalist and an American.” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the verdict as “politically motivated” and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being afraid of the power of facts. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a similar statement. The verdict was despicable and underscored Russia’s contempt for press freedom.
Most recently, Nicholas Daniloff, then Moscow bureau chief of the news magazine US News & World Report, was arrested on espionage charges in 1986. Unlike Gershkovich, he was not convicted but released after a few days – in exchange for a Russian spy who had been arrested in the USA shortly before. A similar scenario is now emerging in the current case.
Negotiations are taking place behind the scenes
According to official Russian information, secret negotiations are underway with the USA about exchanging Gershkovich for a Russian prisoner. Observers in Moscow interpret the quick conviction as a possible indication that an agreement could soon be reached. According to Russian judicial practice, a verdict must usually be reached before an exchange can take place.
The power apparatus repeatedly presses for the release of Russians imprisoned in the USA. At the end of 2022, the arms dealer Viktor But, who was imprisoned in the USA, was exchanged for the well-known US basketball player Brittney Griner. The Russian authorities arrested Griner, who was also playing in Russia at the time, at the airport with a small amount of hashish oil and then sentenced her to a long prison term.
The Kremlin’s current interest is also likely to be directed at a Russian in Germany who was convicted of the murder in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten park in 2021. According to the German verdict, the murderer shot a Georgian citizen on behalf of Moscow state authorities in revenge for allegedly killing Russian soldiers in the Chechen war.
Warning to Western reporters
The trial against Gershkovich began on June 26. After the second day of the trial, the court concluded what the judiciary called the hearing of evidence on Thursday. Media reported that a local deputy from Yekaterinburg, who had met with the US reporter, testified in court as a witness. The politician had previously reported that the US citizen was interested in military issues.
Like many Western journalists, Gershkovich had worked and researched in Russia with accreditation from the Moscow Foreign Ministry. After that, there were also official warnings to Western reporters against traveling to Yekaterinburg, 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow, which is known for its arms industry, during wartime.
The situation in the country is particularly tense because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Representatives of Western media who come from officially designated unfriendly states quickly run the risk of being denounced as spies.
Criticism from Germany
The German Journalists’ Association (DJV) also sees the verdict as a warning from the Kremlin to the international press corps in Russia not to dig beneath the surface in their own interests. Bundestag member Renata Alt spoke of a “demonstration of power by the Kremlin”. This also increases the pressure on the West to release the Tiergarten murderer, said the chairwoman of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
