The Wall Street Journal correspondent has been jailed since March 2023 on espionage charges. He has always denied the allegations. Rumors are circulating about a possible prisoner exchange.
In the controversial trial for alleged espionage, a Russian court sentenced US reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison. The prosecution viewed the allegations made in the closed proceedings as proven. Russia’s domestic secret service FSB has been accused of conspiring to collect information about the Uralvagonzavod weapons factory on behalf of the US secret service CIA.
Gershkovich, who works as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Russia, the US newspaper itself and the US government have always rejected the allegations as baseless. Washington demanded his release. The 32-year-old US reporter was arrested in March 2023.
The trial took place behind closed doors. Reuters / Dmitry Khasovitin
Quick criticism as a sign of exchange?
According to official Russian information, secret negotiations are underway to exchange Gershkovich with the US, but no agreement has yet been reached. Russian observers point to a quick conviction as a possible indication that Gershkovich could now be quickly replaced. Normally, according to Russian judicial practice, there must be a judgment to make an exchange.
The power apparatus has repeatedly pressed for the release of Russians imprisoned in the US. The Kremlin is also interested in freeing a Russian in Germany who was convicted after the murder in Tiergarten in Berlin in 2021. According to the German judge, the murderer released a Georgian citizen on behalf of the Moscow state authorities in revenge for allegedly killing soldiers Russians in the Chechen war.
Warnings to the Western media
Gershkovich has spent most of his pre-trial detention, which has lasted more than a year, in a Moscow prison. Like many Western journalists, he worked and researched in Russia with accreditation from the Moscow Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Later, Western reporters were also officially warned not to travel to Yekaterinburg, 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow, known for its arms industry, during war. Things are very tense in the country because of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine. Western media representatives who come from officially designated unfriendly states run the risk of being rejected as spies.
Many Western media outlets have pulled their employees from Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin passed laws with harsh penalties against “discrediting” the armed forces or spreading “fake news” as part of the war aggressive against Ukraine. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was arrested last year for violating the law on “foreign agents” and spreading false information about the armed forces. She also denies the allegations.