Russian espionage trial begins for American reporter Evan Gershkovich

The trial of Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist charged with espionage in Russia, was set to convene on Wednesday behind closed doors.

The proceedings in Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg, a city hundreds of miles from Moscow, will mark the first time prosecutors have laid out their evidence against the Wall Street Journal reporter, who they've accused of working for the CIA.

The case against the journalist has been widely denounced by U.S. officials and press-freedom advocates, along with Gershkovich's editor and publisher.

"When his case comes before a judge this week, it will not be a trial as we understand it, with a presumption of innocence and a search for the truth," Emma Tucker, the Journal's editor-in-chief, wrote in an open letter published Tuesday.

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The Princeton, New Jersey native was arrested in March 2023 while reporting in the Sverdlovsk region, where Russian officials claimed he was collecting secrets on the "production and repair of military equipment" for the CIA. The indictment against Gershkovich was approved by prosecutors earlier this month, sending the case to the regional court for trial.

The reporter appeared in court on Wednesday with a shaved head, briefly smiling at the gathered photographers from inside the glass cage common for defendants in Russian courtrooms. The press were expected to be asked to leave the courtroom prior to the start of the secret trial.

U.S. officials declared in April 2023 that Gershkovich's detention was wrongful, accusing Russia at the time of attempting to quiet opposition voices and conducting an "ongoing war against the truth."

The Kremlin's efforts to suppress dissent have in the last year become "even more oppressive," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in March, as he marked a year since the journalist's arrest.

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"To date, Russia has provided no evidence of wrongdoing for a simple reason: Evan did nothing wrong," Blinken said. "Journalism is not a crime."

Gershkovich and his lawyers attempted to appeal for release several times over the the 15 months, but those appeals were all denied. His pre-trial detention had been extended until June 30.

Officials from the U.S. Embassy were expected to travel on Wednesday to the court in Yekaterinburg, although it was unclear whether they would be allowed to sit in the room during the trial, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday in Washington.

"I'm not going to speak to their motivations in apprehending him in the first place, but it's clear that it's an attack on journalism," Miller said. "They have made false claims about his behavior, about his actions, about associations with the United States government that simply aren't true."