Gershkovich was arrested on March 29, 2023, in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges that could result in a 20-year prison sentence.
The FSB, Russia’s main intelligence agency, claims he was caught “red-handed” obtaining military secrets.
Gershkovich and his employer, The Wall Street Journal, deny the allegations, calling for his immediate release, while President Joe Biden condemned the charges as “totally illegal.”
The Russian General Prosecutor’s office approved the criminal indictment, stating the trial will be held in Yekaterinburg. The exact date and whether the trial will be public remain unknown.
Prosecutors allege Gershkovich, acting on CIA instructions, collected classified information about the Uralvagonzavod tank factory, a key supplier for Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine.
“The investigation has established and confirmed with documentary evidence that Gershkovich, an American journalist for The Wall Street Journal, on the instructions of the CIA, collected secret information in the Sverdlovsk region in March 2023 about the activities of the defense plant NPK Uralvagonzavod JSC on the production and repair of military equipment,” the prosecutors’ statement said.
Gershkovich is currently in pre-trial detention in Moscow. His case marks the first arrest of a U.S. journalist on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War, sparking unsuccessful prisoner exchange negotiations between Moscow and Washington.
