Politics 18 years in prison demanded for US reporter in Russia

In the controversial trial against the US reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia for alleged espionage, the public prosecutor's office has requested 18 years in prison. The verdict is to be handed down on Friday, the court in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals told the Interfax agency. The prosecution considers the accusations made in the in camera proceedings to be proven. Gershkovich, who works as a correspondent for the "Wall Street Journal" in Russia, the US newspaper itself and the US government have always rejected the accusations as unfounded. Washington is calling for his release.

"The defendant has not admitted guilt," said a court spokeswoman. The 32-year-old US reporter was arrested in March 2023 on charges of espionage. The Russian domestic intelligence service FSB had made the accusations against Gershkovich. According to the indictment, he allegedly collected information about the Uralvagonzavod arms factory in a conspiratorial manner on behalf of the US intelligence agency CIA. The defense said that Gershkovich had conducted research in the region as a journalist.

Negotiations going on behind the scenes

According to official Russian information, negotiations on an exchange of Gershkovich with the USA are taking place behind the scenes, but no agreement has yet been reached. Russian observers interpret a swift conviction as a possible indication that Gershkovich could now be exchanged quickly. As a rule, according to Russian judicial practice, a sentence must be passed before an exchange can take place.

In this way, the power apparatus repeatedly presses Russians imprisoned in the USA free. The Kremlin also has an interest in releasing a Russian in Germany who was convicted after the murder in Berlin's Tiergarten park in 2021. According to the German verdict, the murderer shot a Georgian citizen on behalf of Moscow state authorities in revenge for allegedly killing Russian soldiers during the Chechen war.

Gershkovich has spent most of his pre-trial detention, which has lasted for more than a year, in a Moscow prison. He has repeatedly appealed against the extension of his detention without success.

The trial against him began on June 26. After the second day of the trial, the court ended what the judiciary called the hearing of evidence on Thursday. The media reported that a local MP from Yekaterinburg, who had met with Gershkovich, had testified in court. The politician had previously reported that the US citizen was interested in military issues.

Warning to Western reporters

Like many Western journalists, Gershkovich had worked and researched in Russia with accreditation from the Moscow Foreign Ministry. Afterwards, there were also official warnings to Western reporters not to travel to Ekaterinburg, 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow, which is known for its arms industry, in times of war. The situation in the country is particularly tense due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Representatives of Western media who come from officially designated unfriendly states quickly run the risk of being denounced as spies.

SDA