The American journalist Evan Gershkovich has appeared briefly in a Russian courtroom at the beginning of a trial on fees of espionage that the reporter denies.
Gershkovich, 32, was seen on Wednesday standing in a glass field, sporting an open-necked shirt and along with his arms folded.
The Wall Road Journal reporter is accused by prosecutors of gathering secret data on the orders of the CIA about an organization that manufactures tanks for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. If convicted, he faces a sentence of as much as 20 years.
Gershkovich, his newspaper and the US authorities all reject the allegations and say that he was simply doing his job as a reporter and accredited by Russia’s international ministry to work there.
He was detained whereas on a reporting journey to Ekaterinburg within the Urals mountains in March 2023. His arrest shocked international journalists in Russia, regardless that the nation had enacted more and more repressive legal guidelines on freedom of speech after sending troops into Ukraine.
The proceedings will happen behind closed doorways, that means that the media are excluded and no associates, relations or US embassy workers are allowed in to help Gershkovich. Such preparations are widespread at spying or treason trials in Russia.
Towards the background of the Ukraine conflict, Gershkovich and different People detained in Russia have been caught up within the gravest disaster between Moscow and Washington for greater than 60 years.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has stated he’s open to the concept of a prisoner alternate involving Gershkovich and that contacts with the US have taken place, however they have to stay secret.
The US has accused Russia of conducting “hostage diplomacy“. It has designated Gershkovich and one other jailed American, Paul Whelan, as “wrongfully detained” and says it’s dedicated to bringing them residence.
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