The closed-door espionage trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich began on Wednesday in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
Gershkovich, who was arrested in March 2023, is accused of gathering intelligence on a Russian tank factory on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency. The 32-year-old New Jersey native and his employer strongly deny the allegations.
The Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Emma Tucker, said in a statement that it was “jarring to see him in yet another courtroom for a sham trial held in secret and based on fabricated accusations” and described the defendant’s situation as “an unfathomable attack on the free press.”
The journalist, who faces 20 years in prison if convicted, is the first American news correspondent to be arrested on spying accusations in Russia since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986.
The proceedings are expected to take several months to conclude.
Related Story: Detained Wall Street Journal Reporter to Stand Trial in Russia for Espionage
