Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will begin his trial in Russia behind closed doors on Wednesday, reports Mark Trevelyan of Reuters.
Trevelyan writes, “No reporters, friends, family members or U.S. embassy staff will be allowed into the courtroom in the city of Yekaterinburg where Gershkovich, 32, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
“Russian prosecutors say the Wall Street Journal reporter, arrested in March last year, had collected secret evidence about a Russian tank manufacturer on the orders of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
“Gershkovich, his newspaper and the U.S. government reject the charges. U.S. President Joe Biden called his detention ‘totally illegal.’
“Closed trials are standard procedure in Russia for cases of alleged treason or espionage involving classified state material. The Kremlin says the case, and the arrangements for it, are a matter for the court, but has stated – without publishing evidence – that Gershkovich was caught ‘red-handed.'”
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