Evan Gershkovich, the Jewish-American Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested on espionage charges in Russia, went on trial on Wednesday, CNN reported.
The press was briefly allowed into the courtroom 15 minutes before Wednesday’s hearing began at 11 a.m. local time. Gershkovich stood cross-armed, seeming healthy and composed, occasionally smiling and waving to the crowd of reporters, according to the report.
No reporters will be allowed into the courtroom during the trial itself, which is expected to last months. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. After Wednesday’s hearing wrapped early afternoon, court officials said the trial would resume on August 13, state news agency TASS reported.
Gershkovich has been held on espionage charges since March 29, 2023, when he was arrested by Russian agents while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg.
Gershkovich, the United States government, and The Wall Street Journal deny the allegations, for which the Russian government has not provided evidence. The US government considers him to be wrongfully held.
The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Gershkovich was trying to collect secrets about Uralvagonzavod, a Russian defense enterprise that is one of the world's biggest battle tank producers, for the CIA.
WSJ Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker said it was “jarring to see him in yet another courtroom for a sham trial held in secret and based on fabricated accusations.”
“While we are told he’s doing well given the circumstances, Evan’s wrongful detention continues to be a devastating assault on his freedom and his work and an unfathomable attack on the free press. It’s outrageous that he has already endured 455 days in prison when he never should’ve been arrested,” she said in a statement.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield wrote in a post on social media site X, “The trial of wrongfully detained WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich began today in Russia after more than a year of separation from his family.”
“Evan has been held without charges for over a year for doing his job. I will not stop advocating for him until he is freed,” she added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in February that Gershkovich could be swapped for Vadim Krasikov, convicted of the 2019 murder of a Chechen dissident in Berlin, although he did not mention Krasikov by name.