Russia’s prosecutor announced on Thursday that they have submitted the case of detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich to court. The prosecutors have determined that Gershkovich has been gathering information about a Russian tank factory for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
According to reports from Reuters, the 32-year-old Gershkovich was arrested on March 29, 2023, in Yekaterinburg for alleged espionage. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that the American journalist was caught red-handed attempting to obtain Russian military secrets. The FSB is the primary successor agency to the KGB.
Gershkovich has denied any wrongdoing. His employer, The Wall Street Journal, also known as WSJ, released a statement on Thursday asserting that he is facing “baseless and false accusations” based on what the media outlet called “carefully planned and transparent lies.” US President Biden previously condemned Gershkovich’s detention as “completely illegal.”
Before WSJ issued their statement, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office announced in a statement that they have approved criminal charges against Gershkovich, and a court in Yekaterinburg will handle the case.
The office did not specify when the trial would commence or whether it would be held behind closed doors, which is common for such cases.
In their statement, the Russian prosecutors claimed that their investigation has confirmed, with written evidence, that the American journalist “acted on instructions from the CIA” when he collected secret information about the production and maintenance of military equipment at a Russian defense factory in March 2023.
However, no written evidence supporting these allegations has been made public by the prosecutors.
Gershkovich remains in pretrial detention at present.
WSJ’s publisher, Almar Latour, and editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, released a joint statement demanding Gershkovich’s immediate release. They expressed disappointment and outrage over Russia’s decision to prosecute Gershkovich, calling it “expected but deeply disappointing.”