If Russia Has Real Case Against WSJ Reporter, Why Hold the Trial in Secret?

A court in Russia on Monday announced that the espionage trial of a detained American journalist will take place in secret, a court said.

Evan Gershkovich, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, will be tried in closed-door hearings beginning on June 26, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg said. The 32-year-old was arrested in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and accused of spying—allegations vehemently denied by both the Journal and the Biden administration, which considers Gershkovich wrongfully detained.

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Russia’s FSB security service claims Gershkovich was acting on the instructions of the CIA when he tried to obtain secrets about Uralvagonzavod, a Russian defense company which manufactures tanks, according to Reuters. The court said Russia’s investigative authorities allege Gershkovich collected information about “the production and repair of military equipment.”

The Journal says Gershkovich was on a reporting trip for the newspaper when he was detained last year. Russian authorities have not publicly presented any evidence to support their claims against the journalist, with the White House describing the case as “ridiculous.” Gershkovich could face a sentence of up to 20 years if convicted.

Separately on Monday, U.S. soldier Gordon Black denied charges in a Russian court of threatening to kill his girlfriend, according to state media, which also reported that he “partially” admitted to stealing from her.

Black was arrested Vladivostok in May, the month after he arrived in the city to visit a woman he met in South Korea, according to RIA Novosti. Prosecutors claim Black “forcefully grabbed” the woman by the neck during an argument, the state-owned news agency reports, before allegedly stealing 10,000 rubles (around $113) from her purse. The woman perceived the alleged grabbing “as a real threat to her life,” prosecutors claim.

Black told the court through an interpreter that “there was no intent” to steal the money. He also said he’d transferred $500 to the alleged victim via an acquaintance before he was arrested, according to Tass. The outlet also claimed the woman told the court that Black had been aggressive toward her several times.

The Pentagon previously said Black had broken Army rules by traveling to Russia through China without authorization.

Both Black and Gershkovich’s cases come amid strained diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington, D.C., over the grinding war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously indicated that a prisoner swap deal could be made to free Gershkovich in return for the release of an FSB assassin currently incarcerated in Germany. A similar agreement was reached to free WNBA star Brittney Griner after she spent most of 2022 detained in Russia following the discovery of cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage at Moscow Airport.

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