Jailed in Russia, US reporter Evan Gershkovich to be tried on spying charges, officials say
- Gershkovich is accused of ‘gathering secret information’ for the CIA about a facility that produces and repairs military equipment
US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed for over a year in Russia on espionage charges, will stand trial in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, authorities said on Thursday.
An indictment of the Wall Street Journal reporter has been finalised, and his case was filed to the Sverdlovsky Regional Court in the city about 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) east of Moscow, according to Russia’s Prosecutor General’s office.
Gershkovich is accused of “gathering secret information” for the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a facility in the Sverdlovsk region that produces and repairs military equipment, the Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement, revealing for the first time the details of the accusations against him.
The officials didn’t provide any evidence to back up the accusations. There was no word on when the trial would begin.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday lashed out at Russia’s “outrageous” announcement that Gershkovich will face trial on spying charges.
“Evan Gershkovich is facing a false and baseless charge. Russia’s latest move toward a sham trial is, while expected, deeply disappointing and still no less outrageous,” Journal chief editor Emma Tucker and top executives said in a statement.
