The trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges in Russia will begin on June 26, the Russian court hearing the case announced on Monday.
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, has been imprisoned since his arrest in March 2023 on charges of collecting secret information about Russian military facilities on behalf of the CIA, charges he, the U.S. government and The Wall Street Journal deny.
“Evan has done nothing wrong,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week. “He should never have been arrested in the first place. Journalism is not a crime. The charges against him are false, and the Russian government knows they are false. He should be released immediately.”
If convicted, Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison.
WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich ordered to stand trial in Russia for ‘gathering secret information’
The trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges in Russia begins on June 26 in the Sverdlovsky District Court in Yekaterinburg, where he was arrested in March 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP)
The trial is set to take place at the Sverdlovsky District Court in Yekaterinburg, where Gershkovich was arrested. He has since been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.
The court said the trial would be held behind closed doors, as is typical in espionage cases.
The Biden administration has been trying to negotiate Gershkovich’s release, but the Russian Foreign Ministry has said it will not agree to a prisoner swap until a verdict has been reached.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich turns 32 after being wrongfully detained in Russia
Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have repeatedly denied the Russian accusations against him. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested he would consider a prisoner swap for Gershkovich and a Russian imprisoned in Germany, likely a reference to Vadim Krasikov.
Krasikov is serving a life sentence for the murder of a Chechen Georgian in Berlin in 2019.
Gershkovich’s trial at Yekaterinburg’s Sverdlovsky District Court is expected to be held behind closed doors, as is standard in espionage cases. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP)
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President Putin Associated Press The US government is taking “vigorous steps” to secure Gershkovich’s release.
The Russian leader also told international media at an economic forum in St. Petersburg earlier this month that the announcement would not be “decided through the mass media,” but rather through a “careful, calm and professional approach.”
“And those should only be decided on the basis of reciprocity,” he said of possible prisoner exchanges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
