Russia spying trial begins for US journalist

A Moscow jail has held Evan Gershkovich for almost fifteen months.

Today, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) writer was put on trial in Yekaterinburg, a thousand miles from Moscow. He was arrested there on spying charges while on assignment for the WSJ.

At the Sverdlovsk Regional Courthouse, we were one of the reporters allowed into a courtroom to see him before the hearing began.

Mr. Gershkovich stood in "the aquarium," the metal and glass cage used in Russian courts. He had shaved his head and was wearing a checkered shirt and pants. He smiled at the cameras but did not didn't say anything.

After a short time, we were asked to leave the room. Starting now, this trial will be held behind closed doors.

According to the prosecutors, the American reporter was gathering secret information about a Russian company that makes tanks near Yekaterinburg for the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Mr. Gershkovich, his boss, and the US government strongly deny the accusation. If they are found guilty, the worst punishment is twenty years in jail.

"This process is not real." "It is crazy and unbelievable," says Deborah Ball, who works for the Wall Street Journal as assistant world news chief for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

We do not think Evan will get any rights that people in a Western court would expect. The door will be shut, and the case will be kept secret. Less than 1% of people in Russia are found not guilty, so it's not likely that he will be found not guilty.

It is hard to tell from the streets of Yekaterinburg what happened on March 29, 2023. A group of Russians walk by the restaurant where Russian police are holding Evan Gershkovich. People in other parts of town play chess outside while trams go by.

The Wall Street Journal says that Moscow is "stockpiling Americans" in Russian prisons so that they can be traded for Russians who are in jail abroad.

Former Marine Paul Whelan is one of the US Americans who are currently in jail in Russia. He was found guilty of spying and given 16 years in a prison cell in 2020.

Without a doubt, Mr. Whelan rejects committing any crime. Like with Evan Gershkovich, US officials have said that he was "wrongfully detained."

Also, Kurmasheva was arrested in Russia last year. She is a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Prague. She has an American and a Russian ID.

She was held on her way home to see her sick mother. Concerning a book she helped edit that criticizes Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she was charged with spreading "false information" about the Russian military.

She could go to jail for up to 15 years if found guilty.

More Americans are being held in Russian prisons. Mark Fogel used to teach at the now-closed Anglo-American School of Moscow. After 17 grams of weed were found in his bags at Moscow Airport, he was given a 14-year sentence for drug smuggling. He says that he was taking the drug for medical reasons.

US Staff Sergeant Gordon Black was given a three-year and nine-month prison term in Vladivostok for theft and making death threats against his girlfriend.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in public that he is open to the thought of a prisoner swap in the case of Mr. Gershkovich. The United States and Russia have talked to each other.

What the Kremlin wants in return needs to be clarified.

President Putin has not said who they are. Nevertheless, he has left a vital clue. A few months ago, when asked about Mr. Gershkovich, the Russian president brought up the case of Vadim Krasikov.

Krasikov is currently serving a life term in Germany for murder. He is thought to be a Russian spy.

Deb Ball says, "It is clear that this is hostage diplomacy."

"The Russians have been very clear about what they want to do. It is not hard to figure out that Putin wants to trade Evan and sees him as a pawn. He is a political prisoner.

The Kremlin knows that the US makes deals to get its people back. To get Brittney Griner out of jail in 2022, the US government cleared Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trader who had been on trial. The famous basketball player from the United States was in jail in Russia on drug charges.

Now, an American reporter is being questioned.

When asked about talks about a possible prisoner swap deal with the US, the Kremlin said nothing.

A spokeswoman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said he could not say more and that the subject should not be talked about in public.

"The investigation is underway, the trial is underway, so here we just need to wait for the verdict that will be delivered," said he.

There is no word on how long Evan Gershkovich's hearing will last or how much longer the US reporter will be locked up in Russia.

"We are unable to read this." "We seriously do not know; we are guessing," Ms. Ball says.

"The Russians see this fake trial as part of a process they want to see happen." We have yet to determine how it fits into what will happen next.

The US Embassy in Moscow asked the Kremlin to free Mr. Gershkovich as his trial began, saying that Russian officials "had failed to justify his continued detention."

"This trial is not about proof, due process, or the law." "It is about how the Kremlin uses American citizens to further its political objectives," the embassy said on social media.