American journalist Evan Gershkovich will stand trial in Russia on charges of spying for the CIA, it was announced Thursday.
Gershkovich was arrested back in March 2023 on what many in the West consider fake charges by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government.
“The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation has approved an indictment in the criminal case against US citizen Evan Gershkovich,” the office said in a statement. “The criminal case has been sent to the Sverdlovsk Regional Court for consideration on the merits.”
President Joe Biden has repeatedly called on Putin to release Gershkovich, who was arrested while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich along with the U.S. government has denied all spy charges.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said Thursday that Gershkovich’s case would be sent to the Sverdlovsk Regional Court but gave no date for the start of the trial.
Prosecutors allege the 32-year-old reporter had “acted on instructions from the CIA” and “collected secret information” about the manufacturer Uralvagonzavod, a facility in the region. Russian police have presented no evidence to support their accusations.
“The investigation established and documented that the American journalist of The Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich, on the instructions of the CIA in March 2023, collected secret information in the Sverdlovsk region about the activities of the defense enterprise JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod for the production and repair of military equipment,” the statement added.
Gershkovich faces 20 years in a Russian prison if he is convicted.
Last week, Putin made his first comments on Gershkovich’s detention in months.
“I know that the United States administration is really taking energetic steps for his release. This is true. But such issues are not resolved through the media,” Putin said. “They love such a quiet, calm professional approach and dialogue between the intelligence services.”
“You know, you believe that he is innocent, and Russian law enforcement agencies and special services believe that he committed illegal actions, which are called espionage. I will not go into details,” he added.
