- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
US reporter Gershkovich to go on trial in Russia on June 26
US journalist Evan Gershkovich will go on trial on espionage charges in Russia's Urals city of Yekaterinburg behind closed doors on June 26, the court overseeing the process said on Monday.
The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg and has been held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison since.
He became the first Western journalist since the Soviet era to be arrested for spying in Russia.
Last week, Russia's prosecutor general accused him of working for the CIA and "collecting secret information" about tank maker Uralvagonzavod in the Sverdlovsk region where he was arrested.
The United States said the charges had "zero credibility" and the Wall Street Journal slammed Russia's announcement as "outrageous".
Moscow had not previously provided any public details of its case against Gershkovich, saying only that he was "caught red-handed".
On Monday, the Sverdlovsk regional court handling the case said in a statement that the trial would start on June 26 and be held behind closed doors.
The 32-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Gershkovich, his family, his employer and Washington have denied all charges against him since the start, insisting that the outgoing journalist was just simply doing his job.
"Evan Gershkovich is facing a false and baseless charge. Russia's latest move toward a sham trial is, while expected, deeply disappointing and still no less outrageous," the Journal's chief editor Emma Tucker and top executives said in a statement.
- 'Wrongfully detained' -
Washington last year declared Gershkovich "wrongfully detained", which effectively means the White House regards him as a political hostage.
"We have been clear from the start that Evan has done nothing wrong. He should never have been arrested in the first place", US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists last week.
"The charges against him are false, and the Russian government knows that they are false. He should be released immediately," he added.
Washington has accused Moscow of arresting its citizens on baseless charges to use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February he would like to see Gershkovich freed as part of a prisoner exchange and that talks were ongoing.
But Putin made clear he wanted any deal to involve the release of a Russian jailed in Germany for killing a Chechen dissident.
Among other US nationals detained in Russia is reporter Alsu Kurmasheva, detained last year for failing to register as a "foreign agent". Her employers denounced the case against her as politically motivated.
Former US marine Paul Whelan, in prison in Russia since 2018 and serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges, is also pushing to be included in any future prisoner exchange.
At Lefortovo prison, Gershkovich, who had worked for Agence France-Presse before joining The Wall Street Journal, shares a small cell with another inmate.
Born in the United States to Soviet emigre parents, the outgoing Gershkovich is a well-known member of the Moscow press corps, so well-liked and known for his conviviality that many of his friends have quipped since his detention that he had probably befriended his guards.
P.Costa--AMWN