U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich goes on trial in Russia

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Wednesday faced trial in Russia on espionage charges viewed as a bogus attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to obtain leverage over the West.

Photos emerged of Mr. Gershkovich appearing in a glass cage. His head was shaved, but he appeared to be in good spirits. It was a rare glimpse of the journalist who was arrested in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and accused of spying on Russian operations for the CIA.

Mr. Gershkovich, 32, seemed composed as he smiled and waved at reporters who were allowed to take photographs and video of him before the closed court proceedings.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called it “nothing more than a sham trial.”

“Evan has never been employed by the United States government,” Mr. Kirby said. “Evan is not a spy. Journalism is not a crime and Evan should never have been detained in the first place. Russia has failed to justify Evan’s continued detention.”

He said U.S. embassy personnel obtained brief access to the courtroom but were unable to speak to Mr. Gershkovich.

Mr. Gershkovich is the American son of Soviet emigres and has a reputation as a diligent and honest journalist who reported in Russia under difficult circumstances.

Media companies and others have repeatedly called for his release, and The Journal keeps a running count of the months he’d been detained at the top of its homepage.

“When his case comes before a judge this week, it will not be a trial as we understand it, with a presumption of innocence and a search for the truth,” Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker wrote in an open letter this week.

“Rather, it will be held in secret. No evidence has been unveiled. And we already know the conclusion: This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man who would then face up to 20 years in prison for simply doing his job. And an excellent job he was doing, at that.”

The State Department also said it does not expect a fair trial for Mr. Gershkovich given the charges seemed fabricated in the first place.

President Biden and U.S. officials may consider a prisoner swap to free Mr. Gershkovich. Similar deals have got basketball star and Olympian Brittney Griner and others out of Russia.

Mr. Putin hinted to U.S. media personality Tucker Carlson that he would consider a swap for Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a sentence in Germany for assassinating a former Chechen fighter in Berlin in 2019.

A prison swap could also involve Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine considered wrongfully detained in Russia, and others, including dual nationals being held in Russia.

Mr. Kirby said Mr. Gershkovich is being used as a “bargaining chip” and the administration is committed to the effort to win his release.

“It’s alive and we’re keeping at it,” Mr. Kirby said.