US reporter Evan Gershkovich, jailed in Russia on espionage charges, to stand trial - AP Explains

(13 Jun 2024)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4500407

++PLEASE NOTE: AP IS OPERATING IN RUSSIA ACCORDING TO RUSSIAN RESTRICTIONS ON ALL REPORTING RELATED TO THE ONGOING MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Estonia - 13 June 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Dasha Litvinova, The Associated Press:
"U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, jailed for over a year in Russia on espionage charges, is set to stand trial. officials alleged that the Wall Street Journal reporter was gathering secret information on orders from the CIA about a military equipment plant in Russia, but they don't provide any evidence. Gershkovich's employer and the U.S. government denied the charges. Russian authorities said that his indictment has been finalised, and his case was sent to a court in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, where Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. The U.S. government has designated him as wrongfully detained and has been actively seeking his release. The Kremlin has hinted at a possibility of a prisoner swap, but officials have insisted that such a trade could only happen after a verdict in the trial. It remains unclear, however, when the trial might begin or how long it could last."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Moscow, Russia - 14 December 2023
2. Various of Gershkovich in a glass cage in courtroom

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Moscow, Russia - 19 September 2023
3. Various of Gershkovich smiling behind glass in courtroom

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Moscow, Russia - 24 August 2023
4. Handcuffed Gershkovich getting out of car and going into the court building

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Moscow, Russia - 23 April 2024
5. Various of Evan Gershkovich in glass cage in court room
STORYLINE:
U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed for over a year in Russia on espionage charges, will stand trial in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, where he was detained, authorities said Thursday.

An indictment of The Wall Street Journal reporter has been finalized and his case was filed to the Sverdlovsky Regional Court in the city about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) east of Moscow, according to Russia’s Prosecutor General’s office.

Gershkovich, 32, is accused of “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a facility in the Sverdlovsk region that produces and repairs military equipment, the Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement, revealing for the first time the details of the accusations against him.

The officials didn’t provide any evidence to back up the accusations. There was no word on when the trial would begin.

The Biden administration has sought to negotiate his release, but Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Moscow would consider a prisoner swap only after a verdict in his trial.

Gershkovich was detained while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and accused of spying for the United States. The reporter, his employer and the U.S. government denied the allegations, and Washington designated him as wrongfully detained.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, alleged at the time he was acting on U.S. orders to collect state secrets but also provided no evidence.

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