Russia sets hearing as it moves toward trial of falsely accused WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich

The WSJ says the secret hearing on June 26 for the paper’s falsely accused reporter means a ‘sham trial’ is imminent.

A Russian court said judicial proceedings in the case of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia for over a year, would be held in secret, with the first hearing in a regional court beginning on June 26, the country’s state media reported.

The 32-year-old journalist, a U.S. citizen who was accredited to work in Russia, was falsely accused of espionage in an indictment approved by prosecutors last week. Gershkovich was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service while on a reporting trip for the Journal in March last year.

US officials have designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained and have been working to secure his release. Gershkovich, the Journal and the US government vehemently deny the allegations against him.

The Wall Street Journal said Monday that the “latest development means a sham trial is imminent.”

“We expect that all parties will work to bring Evan home now,” the Journal said in a statement. “Time is of the essence. As we’ve said, the Russian regime’s smearing of Evan is repugnant and based on calculated and transparent lies. Journalism is not a crime, and Evan’s case is an assault on free press,” it said.

Gershkovich has been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, and Russia and the US have been discussing a possible prisoner exchange that could bring his release. The hearing is set to be held at the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in the city of Yekaterinburg.

Evan Gershkovich shapes a heart with his hands inside a defendants' cage after a hearing to consider an appeal on his extended pre-trial detention. Picture: AFP.

Last week, Russian authorities falsely alleged that Gershkovich was gathering information about a defence contractor on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency. In fact, Gershkovich was on a reporting assignment for the Journal in Yekaterinburg.

Russian authorities haven’t publicly presented evidence to back up their allegations against the reporter.

Gershkovich is expected to be transferred from Moscow to Yekaterinburg for the June 26 court hearing. At a trial, Gershkovich would receive little, if any, of the due process he would be afforded in the US or other countries. It isn’t known how long the reporter’s trial will last.

Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated in February that he would be open to a prisoner swap for Gershkovich if Moscow and Washington reached an agreement. He didn’t specify whom Moscow was demanding in return for Gershkovich. But he made clear reference to Vadim Krasikov, a Russian now serving a life sentence in Germany for gunning down a Chechen émigré in a Berlin park in 2019.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that Russia was in contact with the US regarding Gershkovich but didn’t plan to disclose details.

The contacts “are going on and must continue to be carried out in complete information silence,” state news agency TASS quoted Peskov as saying. “No announcements … can be made,” he said.

The decision to hold Gershkovich’s trial behind closed doors was taken by the court, Peskov added.

The detentions of Western nationals in Russia have prompted concern that Moscow is pursuing a campaign to collect prisoners it can use as bargaining chips to expedite the return of Russian convicts held in the West.

Russian officials have denied that Moscow is using foreigners to gain potential political benefits or concessions from the West.

Among other foreign nationals, Russia is holding Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, a Russian-US citizen dual who was detained last year in the city of Kazan while visiting her ailing mother.

She was initially held on an allegation that she had failed to register as a foreign agent, a designation Russian authorities have extended to hundreds of organisations and individuals, often as a way of discrediting them and highlighting their links abroad. She was subsequently charged with spreading false information about the Russian military in relation to a book she helped edit that criticises the invasion of Ukraine.

Kurmasheva has denied the allegations against her through her husband, Pavel Butorin, and her legal team.

Earlier this month, Russia detained a French citizen, identified by Russian news agency TASS as Laurent Vinatier who works for a humanitarian peace-building organization, on an allegation of gathering information about its armed forces. Vinatier’s lawyers have lodged an appeal against his detention, according to TASS. The appeal is expected to be heard by Moscow City Court at a later date, the news agency said.

Paul Whelan, another US citizen and a former Marine, has been held in Russia since 2018. After a trial that was held in secret, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on an espionage conviction that he, his family and the US government say is based on false charges. The US considers Whelan, like Gershkovich, to be wrongfully detained, committing it to work for his release. His family has also been campaigning for his freedom.

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