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, according to CNN.
The reporter 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.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.