The Sverdlovsk Regional Court completed the judicial investigation into the case of espionage against the journalist of the American newspaper Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich. RIA Novosti reports this with reference to the press service of the court.
Only two hearings were held in the Gershkovich case — on June 26 and July 18. Both were held behind closed doors. Arguments between the parties will take place in court tomorrow.
According to It's My City, on July 19 the state prosecution will request a deadline for Gershkovich. The publication writes that at the meeting on June 26 no witnesses were questioned, and today only one witness came out of the courtroom — deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region Vyacheslav Wegner. After the journalist was detained, he said that Gershkovich interviewed him, during which he asked about people’s attitude towards Wagner PMC and the work of industrial enterprises. Wegner refused to explain to RIA Novosti which side he was acting as a witness — the defense or the prosecution.
Initially, the second hearing in the Gershkovich case was supposed to take place on August 13, but, as Mediazona found out, at the request of the journalist’s defense, it was postponed to July 18.
Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 in Yekaterinburg, shortly after he visited Nizhny Tagil, where Uralvagonzavod is located. The journalist was transported to Moscow and placed in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.
On June 13, the Prosecutor General's Office brought final charges against Gershkovich. According to the FSB, he “on instructions from the CIA” collected data on the activities of the defense company Uralvagonzavod. On June 17, the journalist’s case was submitted to the Sverdlovsk Regional Court.
US President Joe Biden promised to seek the release of Gershkovich. After the murder of Alexei Navalny, WSJ wrote that Washington’s negotiations with Moscow did not move forward, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lobbied for the inclusion of the Russian oppositionist in the deal — it was proposed to exchange him for FSB officer Vadim Krasikov, convicted in Germany. The exchange did not take place due to the death of Navalny.
In March 2024, Biden announced that the United States would continue to seek the journalist's release. On July 17, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russian and American intelligence agencies were discussing the possibility of exchanging Gershkovich.