Secret trials and near-certain convictions await those accused of spying like Evan Gershkovich
Moscow has charged the Wall Street Journal reporter with espionage, despite carrying press accreditation issued by Russia’s foreign ministry and has yet to be allowed to meet with a lawyer
Gershkovich was arrested during a reporting trip to the provincial city of Yekaterinburg last month
Evgenia Novozhenina/AlamyAs Moscow prosecutors prepare an espionage case against jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, lawyers with experience in the Russian judicial process predict a journey through a justice system with the familiar features of Western courts but little of their substance.
Like in the US and other Western legal systems, Gershkovich is guaranteed a defence lawyer in Russia. But in practice, there is no promise of when his lawyer will be allowed to talk to him. When they do talk, their conversations will be closely...
