World News

US journalist Evan Gershkovich seen with shaved head as espionage trial begins in Russia, with a conviction all but certain

By
Ronny Reyes
Published June 26, 2024, 4:54 a.m. ET

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appeared with a shaved head inside the dock of a Russian court on Wednesday just before his secret trial on trumped-up espionage charges was set to begin.

Most experts agree that Gershkovich is likely to be found guilty �� despite Russian authorities presenting zero public evidence supporting their spying claims.

The 32-year-old journalist appeared in good spirits nonetheless as he was photophgraed in a Yekaterinburg courtroom behind a glass defendants’ cage with a yellow padlock sealing him in. 

van Gershkovich gestures from inside a glass defendants' cage prior to a hearing in Yekaterinburg's Sverdlovsk Regional Court on June 26, 2024.
Evan Gershkovich gestures from inside a glass defendants’ cage prior to a hearing in Yekaterinburg’s Sverdlovsk Regional Court on June 26, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
Journalists were allowed into the courtroom for a few minutes before the proceedings were closed.
Journalists were allowed into the courtroom for a few minutes before the proceedings were closed. AFP via Getty Images
The Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich when he was on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg and claimed he was gathering secret information for the US intelligence.
The Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich when he was on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg and claimed he was gathering secret information for the US intelligence. AFP via Getty Images

Gershkovich, who stands accused of spying for US intelligence while on a reporting trip, gave a brief smile to reporters who were only allowed in the courtroom for a few minutes before the proceedings began.

DOW Jones CEO Almar Latour and WSJ chief editor Emma Tucker have blasted the trial as a sham, with US officials adding that they are committed to seeking his release. 

“Evan Gershkovich is facing a false and baseless charge,” Latour and Tucker said in a statement. 

“The Russian regime’s smearing of Evan is repugnant, disgusting and based on calculated and transparent lies. Journalism is not a crime,” they added. 

“We had hoped to avoid this moment and now expect the US government to redouble efforts to get Evan released.” 

The 32-year-old journalist appeared in the court in a glass defendants' cage, his head shaved and wearing a black-and-blue plaid shirt.
The 32-year-old journalist appeared in the court in a glass defendants’ cage, his head shaved and wearing a black-and-blue plaid shirt. AFP via Getty Images
The State Department has declared him “wrongfully detained,” thereby committing the government to assertively seek his release.
The State Department has declared him “wrongfully detained,” thereby committing the government to assertively seek his release. REUTERS
The American-born son of immigrants from the USSR, Gershkovich is the first Western journalist arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia.
The American-born son of immigrants from the USSR, Gershkovich is the first Western journalist arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia. AFP via Getty Images

Jay Conti, executive vice president and general counsel for Dow Jones, echoed the outrage over the case against Gershkovich, where Russian officials failed to present any evidence to support their claims before the trial began. 

“He was an accredited journalist doing journalism, and this is a sham trial, bogus charges that are completely trumped up,” Conti said. 

Gershkovich, the American-born son of immigrants from the USSR, was reporting in Yekaterinburg when he was arrested March 29, 2023.   

The Russian Prosecutor General’s office accused him of taking orders from the CIA to spy on Uralvagonzavod, a military production and repair base about 90 miles north of Yekaterinburg. 

With Gershkovich’s trial being conducted behind closed doors, few details, if any, are likely to become public. 

Since Russian courts convict more than 99% of the defendants who appear before them, the American reporter will likely be convicted. 

Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison if he’s found guilty. 

In Russia, prosecutors are also allowed to appeal sentences that they feel are too lenient, and are even allowed to file appeals against acquittals. 

An electronic billboard at New York's Times Square marks the one year anniversary of the imprisonment in Russia of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, on March 29, 2024.
An electronic billboard at New York’s Times Square marks the one year anniversary of the imprisonment in Russia of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, on March 29, 2024. AFP via Getty Images

Moscow has not ruled out using Gershkovich for a prisoner exchange with the US, but Russian officials said such an exchange would only happen after a verdict is reached. 

Putin has previously suggested that Russia could free Gershkovich in exchange for the release of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian national imprisoned in Germany for assassinating a Chechen rebel leader in Berlin. 

It remains unclear if the Kremlin would still honor a deal given the current state of Russian-US relations.

Moscow vowed to retaliate against America on Monday over a deadly missile strike in Crimea that was allegedly conducted with US arms.  

Biden is also facing pressure to secure Gershkovich’s release after rival Donald Trump boasted that he can easily free the imprisoned journalist if he’s elected. 

Putin “will do that for me, but not for anyone else,” Trump claimed in May. 

With Post wires