Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, has begun his espionage trial in Russia, marking a significant moment as he is the first American journalist to face such charges in the country since the Cold War. The trial, which is being conducted behind closed doors, has sparked international outrage, with the US government and others condemning the proceedings. Gershkovich has spent 15 months in detention, during which he has had no public evidence presented against him. His arrest in Yekaterinburg and the subsequent trial have raised concerns about the safety and freedom of foreign correspondents in Russia, signaling a potentially dangerous new era for journalism in the country. The case has drawn parallels to the Cold War era, highlighting the risks journalists face while reporting in increasingly authoritarian regimes.
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Espionage trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich signals a dangerous new era for journalism in Russia
Foreign correspondents could become targets of Soviet entrapment regardless of what they actually reported on. In 1986, Nicholas Daniloff, the Moscow bureau chief of US News & World Report, was arrested on the street after meeting with a Russian acquaintance and receiving a package of, what he thought, were newspaper clippings.
