Here are the key developments in Russia’s case against Evan Gershkovich, Wall Street Journal reporterwho was convicted Friday on espionage charges in an unusually swift trial in the country’s highly politicized justice system. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison.
Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government have vehemently denied the allegations. U.S. officials and The Wall Street Journal have denounced the trial as a sham.
March 29, 2023 – Gershkovich, then 31 years old and on a reporting trip, has been arrested in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, about 1,670 kilometers (1,035 miles) east of Moscow.
March 30, 2023 – Russia’s Federal Security Service, a domestic intelligence agency known by the acronym FSB, issues a statement accusing Gershkovich of collecting state secrets on U.S. orders. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claims the journalist was “caught red-handed.” Officials provide no evidence or further details. The case is classified as secret, as is standard for espionage and treason cases in Russia. The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government deny the allegations. Gershkovich appears before a Moscow court and is remanded in custody in the infamous Lefortovo prison.
April 7, 2023 – Russian news agencies, citing law enforcement officials, report that Gershkovich has been formally charged with espionage. The reports say he categorically denied the charges and said he was only working as a journalist.
April 10, 2023 – The U.S. State Department officially designates Gershkovich as wrongfully detainedThe designation is applied only to a small subset of Americans held abroad who meet certain criteria. Such cases go to a State Department special envoy, who attempts to negotiate their release.
April 13, 2023 – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov tells state news agency Tass that talk about a possible exchange could take place through a special channel that Russian and American security services have set up for such purposes. He emphasizes that “the question of exchanging someone can be considered only after a court has given its verdict.”
April 17, 2023 – US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visits Gershkovich in Lefortovo prison for the first time. Tracy says that “he is in good health and staying strong.”
October 26, 2023 – Gershkovich turns 32 years behind bars.
June 13, 2024 – The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office reports that a Gershkovich indictment completed and his case was filed with the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg. The statement makes the first accusations against Gershkovich, alleging without evidence that the reporter is accused of “gathering classified information” about a facility in the Sverdlovsk region that manufactured and repaired military equipment. The Wall Street Journal and its publisher Dow Jones dismissed the allegations as “false and baseless” and condemned “Russia’s latest move toward a sham trial.”
June 17, 2024 – Sverdlovsk Regional Court sets the date of the trial for June 26.
June 26, 2024 – Gershkovich appears for the first hearing in courtThe proceedings are behind closed doors, but journalists are allowed in a few minutes before the hearing begins. The reporter wears a black-and-blue checked shirt and his head is shaved. No explanation is given as to why. Some prisoners in Russia have shaved their heads or cut their hair short for hygienic reasons. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials again denounce the trial as a sham. The next hearing is scheduled for mid-August.
July 16, 2024 – Court records show the second hearing in the trial has been held unexpectedly progressed until July 18. Court officials told Russian media that this was done at the request of Gershkovich’s lawyers.
July 18, 2024 – The second hearing in the trial is held behind closed doors and journalists are not allowed in the courtroom. After the hearing, court officials announce that the pleas will take place the following day.
July 19, 2024 – The Unusually Fast process completed after three hearings. Closing arguments are held behind closed doors, with the media again barred from the courtroom. The verdict is delivered just hours after closing arguments. Gershkovich is convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison.