Russian trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich accused of spying reaches final stages
- Closing arguments in the espionage trial in Russia of US journalist Evan Gershkovich, to be held on Friday
A Russian court will on Friday hear closing arguments in the expedited espionage trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich, a case that his employer and the White House have denounced as a sham.
Authorities arrested the 32-year-old journalist on March 29, 2023, while he was on a reporting trip and claimed without offering any evidence that he was gathering secret information for the US. The American-born son of immigrants from the USSR, Gershkovich is the first Western journalist arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia.
The US State Department has declared him “wrongfully detained,” thereby committing the government to assertively seek his release.
Lavrov also said on Wednesday that Moscow and Washington’s intelligence services are discussing an exchange involving Gershkovich, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
Russia has previously signalled the possibility of a swap involving Gershkovich, but it says a verdict – which could take months – would have to come first. Even after a verdict, any release could still take months or years.
The court said Gershkovich attended the second hearing in his trial, which is taking place in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains where the journalist was detained – but the press had no access to the courtroom on Thursday, and he was not seen.