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Russian prosecutors said today that they have approved an indictment of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. He has been held in a Russian prison since March 29, 2023.
The 32-year-old reporter is based at the Wall Street Journal’s Moscow bureau. He was on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, about 900 miles east of Moscow, when the Federal Security Service or FSB detained him. He was falsely accused of espionage.
With an indictment approved, Evan’s case is referred to a trial court. He faces a series of secret, closed-door hearings. Evan, the Wall Street Journal, and the Biden administration deny that Evan is a spy. He is an American citizen and was accredited to work in Russia.
He has been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison where he is held in a cell for 23 hours a day. The U.S. government has deemed Evan as wrongfully detained.
In a statement issued today, Russian authorities claimed that Evan was gathering information on a defense contractor for the CIA. It’s a false claim – he was on assignment for the Wall Street Journal, his employer.
Evan’s trial will likely take place in Yekaterinburg. The specifics of when and where have not been disclosed. There will be little or no due process in Russia that he would have available in the United States or other countries.
Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker demanded Evan’s immediate release.
