Gershkovich, the US journalist on trial in Russia – DW – 06/26/2024

It was March 29, 2023 in Yekaterinburg, at the foot of the Urals. Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine had been in full swing for about a year and Evan Gershkovich was investigating the famous Wagner Group and its recruitment methods. The American journalist sought to find out what the Russian population thought about it.

Yekaterinburg is also the headquarters of Uralvagonzavod, a major Russian defense company. Among other things, tanks used in Ukraine are manufactured here. It is not clear whether this was the reason Gershkovich was investigating here, almost 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow. What is clear, however, is that this would be his downfall.

Russian security forces arrested him. The accusation: espionage for the United States. They alleged that Gershkovich had collected secret information about the manufacture and repair of military equipment for the CIA. It is the first time since the end of the Cold War that Russia has imprisoned an American journalist.

Gershkovich was transferred to the famous Lefortovo detention center in Moscow: the former Soviet KGB torture site is now a remand prison. He has been detained there ever since. Only now, almost 15 months later, does the trial against him begin, this June 26, behind closed doors.

Between two worlds

Gershkovich, 32, has lived and worked in Russia since 2017. First, as a reporter for the Moscow Times. Then, for the AFP news agency. Since January 2022, he reports from the successor states of the Soviet Union for the Wall Street Journal.

He was born in New York to Jewish immigrants, but his family is originally from Ukraine. Many of his ancestors were killed during the Holocaust. His family also suffered anti-Semitic discrimination in the Soviet Union. His parents therefore emigrated to the United States in 1979.

Gershkovich grew up bilingual. When he decided to go to Russia, in his twenties, it was also a trip back to his roots for him. He made a name for himself as a reporter, with stories that revealed deep insights into Russian culture and society.

In February 2022, Russian troops invaded neighboring Ukraine and working conditions became increasingly difficult for foreign journalists. DW was also forced to close its studio in Moscow, after the tightening of press laws.

But Gershkovich decided to stay, reports the Wall Street Journal. He was probably well aware of the danger. In July 2022, eight months before his own arrest, he tweeted: “When reporting on Russia, it is now common to see people you know get locked up for years.”

Arrested Americans: chips in the hands of the Kremlin?

That is precisely the fate that now also threatens Gershkovich, who denies all the accusations against him. In the worst case scenario, the American journalist could spend up to 20 years behind bars. And he is not the only American imprisoned in Russia.

In total, about a dozen American citizens are in Russian prisons. Washington accuses Moscow of using them to secure the release of Russians imprisoned in the United States. This is also the reason why the United States has asked its citizens, already several times since 2022, to leave Russia.

Last minute prisoner exchange?

Particular attention was received by the case of American basketball player Brittney Griner, arrested shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, for alleged drug-related crimes, and sentenced to nine years in prison. In her luggage she carried 0.7 grams of cannabis oil, which had been prescribed to her by an American doctor to relieve pain. Griner was released in December 2022, in exchange for the famous Russian arms dealer Viktor But, imprisoned in the United States.

That could also be the last resort for Evan Gershkovich. When he was arrested in March 2023, American media speculated that it could have been Russian retaliation. Just five days earlier, the United States itself had filed charges against the Russian Sergei Cherkassov for espionage. Cherkassov was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison in Brazil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed in early June that Moscow and Washington are intensively discussing a possible prisoner exchange behind the scenes. “The ball is in the hands of the United States,” its deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, told the Russian state news agency Tass this week. “We are waiting for them to react to the ideas presented to them.”

“We are happy that both governments have declared their intention to negotiate,” Gershkovich’s parents told the US network. ABC News. Fourteen months after the arrest, they have not given up hope that their son will be released: “If you let pessimism prevail,” said Gershkovich’s mother, Ella Milman, “it’s game over.”

(rml/ers)