Arrested on research trip: US reporter Gershkovich to go to court for espionage

He was arrested during the inspection trip
American reporter Gershkovich must go to court for espionage

June 14, 2024, 7:37 am

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Gershkovich, an American journalist for the Wall Street Journal, has been detained for more than a year. In Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, the reporter is due to stand trial soon – authorities accuse him of spying for the arms industry.

The Russian justice system has accused American reporter Ivan Gershkovich of espionage more than a year after his arrest. The trial of the Wall Street Journal reporter will take place in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, according to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office in Moscow. The 32-year-old journalist denied the allegation during interrogation.

A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said that according to the investigation, Gershkovich collected classified information on behalf of the CIA, the US secret service. It concerns the production and repair of military equipment at the Uralvakhonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagh, Urals. Andriy Ivanov, a spokesman for the authority, said that Gershkovich followed all the rules of the conspiracy in his illegal activities, according to the Interfax news agency.

Gershkovich is considered Putin’s bargaining chip

The US government responded with clear words. Asked in Washington, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called the allegation “absolutely unsubstantiated”. “Journalism is not a crime. The charges against him are false and the Russian government knows they are false. He must be released immediately.”

Gershkovich was arrested in late March 2023 on a research trip in Yekaterinburg. Several media outlets called for his release. US President Joe Biden promised to work for her.

Gershkovich is seen as a bargaining chip through which Moscow can put pressure on the United States. The reporter’s arrest comes as a warning to foreign journalists still working in Russia despite the war against Ukraine. No date has been set for the hearing. However, the trial in Yekaterinburg, a two-and-a-half-hour flight east of Moscow, will make observing the trial more difficult.