MOSCOW: Russia's espionage trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich moved quickly through witness testimony behind closed doors on Thursday and will now proceed to lawyers' closing arguments in a case his employer called "a sham".
The unusually rapid pace of the trial - Thursday's hearing was unexpectedly brought forward by over a month and the witness testimony stage typically takes much longer to hear - is likely to stoke speculation that a long-discussed US-Russia prisoner exchange deal involving Gershkovich may be in the offing.
Russia usually concludes legal proceedings before making any such exchange.
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old American who denies any wrongdoing and says the allegations against him are false, went on trial last month in the city of Yekaterinburg, where he faces charges that carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege that Gershkovich gathered secret information on the orders of the US Central Intelligence Agency about a company that manufactures tanks for Russia's war in Ukraine. He is the first US journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War.
Officers of the FSB security service arrested him on March 29, 2023 at a steakhouse in Yekaterinburg, 1,400 km east of Moscow. He has since been held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison.
Gershkovich, his newspaper and the US government all reject the allegations and say he was merely doing his job as a reporter accredited by the Foreign Ministry to work in Russia. His employer said on Thursday he had been unjustly arrested 477 days ago.
"Even as Russia orchestrates its shameful sham trial, we continue to do everything we can to push for Evan's immediate release," the Journal said in a statement.
The US Embassy said: "Regardless of what Russian authorities claim, Evan is a journalist. He did not commit any illegal actions. Russian authorities have been unable to provide evidence that he committed a crime or justification for Evan's continued detention."
The court said earlier this week that his trial would resume on Thursday instead of August 13 - at the request of Gershkovich's defence lawyers.
Thursday's hearing, only the second one in the trial, was closed to the press and the court has said that the next time the media will have access to Gershkovich will be when the verdict is announced. - Reuters
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