During the debate between the parties in the Sverdlovsk Regional Court, prosecutor Mikael Ozdoev asked that the American newspaper Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich be sentenced to 18 years in a maximum security colony in a case of espionage (Article 276 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by Interfax and Vecherniye Vedomosti.
This is the third hearing in the Gershkovich case. The court completed the judicial investigation in two sessions, which took place on June 26 and July 18. The case is being considered behind closed doors. The verdict is scheduled to be announced today at 17:00 local time. According to 66.RU, Gershkovich does not admit guilt in the case.
During the second court hearing, Vyacheslav Wegner, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region, whom Gershkovich interviewed when he came to the Urals, was interrogated. It is unknown what the deputy said during interrogation and on which side — the defense or the prosecution — he is speaking. After the journalist was detained, Wegner said that during an interview Gershkovich asked him about the work of industrial enterprises and people’s attitude towards Wagner PMC.
Initially, the second hearing in the journalist’s case was supposed to take place on August 13, but, as Mediazona found out, at the request of the defense it was postponed to July 18.
Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 — after he visited Nizhny Tagil, where the Uralvagonzavod defense plant is located. The American was transferred to Moscow, he was under arrest in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.
On June 13, 2024, 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 Uralvagonzavod. On June 17, the journalist’s case was submitted to the Sverdlovsk Regional Court.
US President Joe Biden promised to achieve the release of Gershkovich. After the murder of Alexei Navalny, WSJ wrote that negotiations between Washington and Moscow on the exchange of the journalist 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 Navalny's death.
In March 2024, Biden announced that the United States would continue to seek the release of Gershkovich. On July 17, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the possibility of his exchange was being discussed by Russian and American intelligence services.