Russian prosecutors announced a major step in the trial against Evan Gershkovich, the imprisoned American journalist, on Thursday, saying they had finalized the espionage indictment against him and that he would be tried in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg , where he was arrested. More than a year ago.
Mr. Gershkovich, 32, is expected to be transferred from Moscow’s notorious high-security Lefortovo prison to stand trial in that city, about 880 miles east of the Russian capital, said Yevgeny Smirnov, a Russian lawyer who has worked on similar cases. .
When such espionage cases go to trial in Russia, it usually takes about four months, but can take up to a year, and they are usually closed to the media, Mr. Smirnov said in a telephone interview. If convicted, Mr. Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison.
Mr. Gershkovich, his employer and the United States government have denied the accusations against him. The U.S. government has designated Mr. Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained,” which in effect means it considers him a political prisoner.
Russian authorities have hinted in the past that they might be open to a prisoner exchange for Mr. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal journalist, but only after a verdict has been reached in his case.
Speaking last week at a meeting with representatives of international news agencies, President Vladimir V. Putin said that Russian and American intelligence agencies were “in contact on this issue.”
“These issues absolutely must be resolved on the basis of reciprocity,” Mr. Putin said, referring to any potential prisoner exchange involving Mr. Gershkovich.
The detention of Mr. Gershkovich, the first American journalist arrested on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, highlighted the extent to which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has damaged relations between Moscow and Washington.
In A declarationprosecutors said they determined that “under the instructions of the CIA” and “using careful conspiratorial methods,” Mr. Gershkovich was “collecting secret information” about a factory that produces tanks and other weapons in the area of Sverdlovsk.
This is the first time that Russian state officials have revealed details of the accusations against Mr. Gershkovich. The statement presented no evidence to support the accusations.
According to Mr. Smirnov, Russian security services determine in such cases what constitutes a classified document and what is not. The defense has no way to dispute their claims, he said.
“We clearly understand that he is in prison for exchange,” Mr. Smirnov said, referring to Mr. Gershkovich. He added that depending on secret negotiations on a possible prisoner exchange, the trial could be accelerated to reach an earlier verdict.
Mr. Gershkovich is one of several American nationals detained in Russia in recent years, and his case has raised fears that the Kremlin is seeking to use American citizens as bargaining chips against Russians detained in the West.
Others include Paul Whelana former US Marine, and Alsou Kurmasheva, editor-in-chief working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Last week, a Russian court sentenced Yuri Malev, a Russian-American national, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for criticizing Russia, its leaders and its war in Ukraine on social media.
