An unprecedented trial opens this June 26 for a case never seen before in the history of modern Russia: a Western correspondent arrested then thrown in prison before being accused of espionage. Which he vigorously denies, as do those close to him, his newspaper and Washington. American journalist Evan Gershkovich is now alone with his Russian lawyers facing the judges: the trial is behind closed doors.
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From our special correspondent in Yekaterinburg,
The correspondent of Wall Street Journal is tried where he was arrested: in Yekaterinburg in the Urals. Russian and Western press were allowed into the regional court, a nondescript, glassy, out-of-the-way building, and then briefly into a court room for photos. Ban on speaking, ban on asking a question to Evan Ghershkovish in the glass cage of the accused.
Evan Gershkovich in the defendants’ cage at the Yekaterinburg regional court. In 15 minutes his closed-door trial will begin for espionage charges that he, his relatives, his newspaper and Washington contest1/2@rfi pic.twitter.com/oJ2vrZQqnS
— Anissa El Jabri (@anissaeljabri) June 26, 2024
As usual during the hearings which renewed his detention, the journalist showed himself without apparent emotion, sometimes smiling, even though he had just spent 15 months behind bars in Lefortovo prison in Moscow before the announcement of his transfer for trial to Yekaterinburg.
The visual contact was very brief and will be the last for a long time: the correspondent entered the court through a special entrance closed to view, and he will also be judged in a room other than the one where he was seen this Wednesday morning: in a special room in the court dedicated to secrecy.
Closed trial
In Russiatrials for this type of charge are always held behind closed doors. Even the consul and vice-consul of the embassy of UNITED STATES who made the trip did not have more access; they also declined any comment in the corridors of the court.
The duration of the trial is not known and neither is the content of the “espionage for the CIA” charges. Russia indeed accuses Evan Ghershkovish of having collected information secrets about a tank factory in the Yekaterinburg region, the Uralvagonzavod factory. An important factory in the Russian military-industrial complex which notably produces tanks intended for the conflict in Ukrainebut she has never publicly substantiated her accusations.
In any case, the authorities are now publicly putting on the table the question of an exchange of the correspondent of Wall Street Journal. Vladimir Putin had already hinted as much in mid-December, during his annual press conference in the Kremlin. A senior Russian diplomatic official told the state agency Tass eight days ago that Moscow made a proposal to Washington. Without revealing the exact outline of this offer, Sergei Ryabkov added: “ the ball is in the court of the United States “.
Russian-American journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva media RFE/RL is also in detention in Russia awaiting trial for an offense under the law on “foreign agents”, a text used by the Kremlin to persecute dissidents, organizations and independent media.
Read also“A year of stolen stories”: American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been detained for a year in Russia