Wall Avenue Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who’s on trial on espionage costs, smiles inside a defendants’ enclosure earlier than a courtroom listening to in Yekaterinburg, Russia. | Photograph credit score: Reuters
Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov on July 18 blamed American journalists for delaying talks between his American counterparts on a doable prisoner swap involving inmates. Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
A day earlier than Gershkovich is because of seem in courtroom on espionage costs, Lavrov advised a U.N. information convention that confidential negotiations are nonetheless “ongoing.” Diary The US vehemently denies the fees towards him and denounces the trial as a sham and illegitimate.
On March 29, 2023, Gershkovich was detained throughout a analysis journey in Yekaterinburg, a metropolis within the Urals. He’s accused of espionage, however Russian authorities haven’t offered any proof that he was accumulating secret data for america.
If convicted, he faces as much as 20 years in jail, though Russia has indicated it’s open to a prisoner alternate after the decision.
Russian courts convict greater than 99% of defendants. Prosecutors can attraction sentences they think about too lenient, and may even attraction towards acquittals.
