The US expressed concern that the trial of suspected espionage against an American detained in Russia journalist from the "Wall Street Journal" Evan Gershkovich will be watched behind closed doors, Reuters reported, citing BTA, referring to a statement by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
The agency notes that Gershkovich denies allegations that he collected secrets for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Miller added that the US would try to attend the trial, but was unsure if that would be possible.
Thirty-two-year-old Gershkovich was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSS) on March 29, 2023, at a steakhouse in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg, 1,400 km east of Moscow, on espionage charges that are expected to 20 years in prison. He was the first American journalist to be arrested on suspicion of espionage in Russia since the Cold War more than three decades ago. According to the "Wall Street Journal" Gershkovich was doing his job and denies being a spy.
The FSS, which succeeded the Soviet-era KGB, said Gershkovich had been trying to collect for the CIA secrets about the "Uralvagonzavod," one of the world's largest Russian battle tank factories.
"The trial will be heard behind closed doors," the press office of the Sverdlovsk Region Court in Yekaterinburg announced earlier today.