The espionage trial of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter jailed in Russia, enters its final phase on Friday as the court began hearing closing arguments.
The prosecution considers the allegations made in the closed-door proceedings, which opened in Yekaterinburg on June 26, to have been proven beyond a doubt.
Russian media said 32-year-old Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He and his employer deny the charges.
Press freedom advocates, media outlets around the globe, and the US government have also condemned Russia’s prosecution of Gershkovich as a sham and demanded his release.
It was not clear when the judgement would be handed down, but court watchers said a guilty verdict – which is considered a certainty – and sentence were possible as soon as Friday.
A court spokesman had said on Thursday, which was the trial’s second day, that the presentation of the prosecution’s evidence and witness testimony had been carried out and concluded.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023. He is accused of gathering information on the Uralvagonzavod defence equipment factory in Nizhny Tagil, which lies 130 kilometres to the north of Yekaterinburg, on behalf of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker issued a statement at the start of trial describing the proceedings in the Ural Mountains city as “shameful and illegitimate.”
Like many Western journalists, Gershkovich had worked and researched in Russia with accreditation from the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.
The Kremlin said recently talks were under way regarding an exchange of Russian prisoners held in the US for Gershkovich’s freedom. The detention of US citizens in Russia often leads to fraught negotiations between Moscow and Washington.
