Reporter Evan Gershkovich goes on trial in Russia on specious espionage charges

reporter Evan Gershkovich went on trial behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday, 15 months after his arrest in the Russian city on espionage charges that he, his employer and the US government vehemently deny.

The hearing ended after about two hours, and the next one was scheduled for Aug. 13, court officials said.“Today our colleague Evan Gershkovich faced the Russian regime’s shameful and illegitimate proceedings against him,” said Almar Latour, Dow Jones CEO and publisher of the Journal, and Emma Tucker, its top editor.

The Journal has worked to keep the case in the public eye and it has become an issue in the months leading up to the US presidential election.After his arrest, Gershkovich was held in Moscow’s notoriously dismal Lefortovo Prison. He has appeared healthy during court hearings in which his appeals for release have been rejected.

Gershkovich’s arrest came about a year after President Vladimir Putin pushed through laws that chilled journalists, criminalising criticism of what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine and statements seen as discrediting the military. Foreign journalists largely left after the laws’ passage; many trickled back in subsequent months, but there were concerns about whether Russian authorities would act against them.

Asked about the trial Wednesday during a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refrained from comment, saying only “it’s necessary to wait for the verdict.”

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

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