Iran Press/Europe: The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal was arrested in March 2023 in Ekaterinburg by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
After investigation revealed that Gershkovich had gathered information on a Russian defense enterprise at the time that he had been “caught red-handed,” according to the Kremlin.
His trial was held behind closed doors due to national security concerns.
Gershkovich’s family and work colleagues deny the charges and claim he was instead conducting an ordinary journalistic investigation.
His arrest marked the first time an American reporter had been detained on suspicion of espionage since the Cold War, RT reported.
Gershkovich denied any wrongdoing at the hearing on Friday.
According to Roger Carstens, US special presidential envoy Washington had previously attempted to broker a deal with Moscow for the release of Gershkovich but failed to succeed in the effort.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia was considering a potential prisoner swap involving him and was in contact with American intelligence agencies.
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