Courtroom anticipated to subject verdict in espionage trial of The Wall Avenue Journal reporter on Friday.
A Russian prosecutor is in search of an 18-year sentence for American journalist Evan Gershkovich who has been charged with espionage.
The court docket mentioned a verdict is predicted to be issued on Friday at 12:00 GMT.
The 32-year-old correspondent for The Wall Avenue Journal newspaper is the primary Western journalist in Russia to be arrested on espionage fees in post-Soviet Russia.
Gershkovich is accused by prosecutors of gathering secret details about Uralvagonzavod, a plant manufacturing tanks for Russia’s battle in Ukraine, on the orders of the CIA.
The reporter, his employer and america authorities deny the allegations, saying he was simply doing his job, with accreditation from Russia’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs.
He was detained in March 2023 on a reporting journey to the Urals metropolis of Yekaterinburg after which spent nearly 16 months in Moscow’s infamous Lefortovo jail.
The newest closed-door listening to began at about 10:45am (05:45 GMT) at Sverdlovsk Regional Courtroom in Yekaterinburg, with the prosecution and defence groups making their closing arguments.
Closed-trials are commonplace in Russia for instances of treason or espionage involving labeled materials.
