Russia | The prosecutor claims: A US reporter gathered information about a tank factory for the CIA

in Russia arrested last year Editor of The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich will face trial for espionage in Yekaterinburg, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Russia’s general prosecutor’s office said it had referred the case to court, but the prosecutor did not say in a statement when the case will begin or whether the trial will be public.

According to the prosecutor, the American Gershkovich collected information about the Russian tank factory for the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Reuters news agency.

The Russian intelligence service FSB has claimed to have caught Gershkovich in the act when he was trying to obtain military secrets.

If the court finds Gershkovich guilty of espionage, he could receive a sentence of up to 20 years.

Gershkovich was arrested in March last year in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage. He has been imprisoned and awaiting trial for about 15 months.

Gershkovich works for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as a correspondent. Gershkovich and the WSJ have strongly denied the spying allegations. President Joe Biden the administration has demanded Gershkovich’s release.

In March, the Russian court extended Gershkovich’s imprisonment until the end of June.

Prosecutor according to the investigation, there is confirmed evidence that Gershkovich would have collected information on the production and repair of military equipment at the Uralvagonzavod factory in the Sverdlovsk region under instructions from the CIA.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Uralvagonzavod plant is in a central position in the supply of tanks against Ukraine.

“Gershkovich carried out illegal activities and used elaborate conspiracy methods,” prosecutors said, according to Reuters.

Gershkovich is the first US journalist to be accused of espionage in Russia since the Cold War. The United States has accused Russia of inventing trumped-up charges and using Gershkovich as a pawn.