In the coming week, American journalist Evan Gershkovich goes on secret trial in Russia.

Europe deals with the fallout from EU parliamentary elections, and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is due to return from the International Space Station after a nearly two-week delay.

It's June 20, 20, 24, and time for the world next week.

I'm Carly Ann Robbins, and today we're joined again by Miriam Elder, filling in for Bob McMahon, who's escaping the East Coast heat on a well-deserved

vacation. Miriam is the Edward R. Maro Press Fellow here at the Council. She's a reporter and

editor with a great amount of expertise in Russia, which she covered for the Moscow Times and The Guardian.

She's also been an editor at BuzzFeed and Vanity Fair. Miriam, I'm so glad you're here and thanks for coming back.

I'm so happy to be here, Carla. So let's start today in Russia, where a court has now announced

an espionage trial for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will begin on June 26, and it's

going to be conducted in secret. Evan, another highly respected journalist with long experience

in Russia has been held on these trumped-up charges in Russia's Lefort to Vote Prison. This is a really

horrible place for nearly 15 months. What does it mean that that case is finally going ahead?

That's right, Carla. Evan is set to go on trial next Wednesday at a regional court in Eccaterineberg,

which is around 900 miles east of Moscow. That's where he was arrested in March of last year.

Since then, as you mentioned, he's been held in Lafortova, which is a Tsarist-era prison in Moscow.

It's notorious for the isolation it imposes on those inside. So the state is accusing Evan of espionage, a charge that he,

the Wall Street Journal, and the U.S. government vehemently deny. And most cases involving

national security are held in secret, so no journalists will be allowed in the courtroom. And the

State Department said this week that they'll try to have embassy officials inside, but they're not

sure if that'll be allowed. As for what it means, the trial will

undoubtedly be difficult. Remember that more than 99% of Russian court cases end in conviction.

The judge on this trial once told an interviewer that he's only ever acquitted three or four

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