2023-04-18 13:44:41
RUSSIA – An American journalist arrested on espionage charges as part of a sweeping Kremlin campaign against press freedom amid the war in Ukraine will remain jailed, a Russian judge ruled Tuesday. Evan Gershkovich and the US government vehemently deny the allegations.
The Wall Street Journal reporter is the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on espionage charges, and his arrest has unnerved journalists in the country and sparked outrage in the West.
Dozens of reporters crowded into the courtroom to catch a glimpse of Gershkovich. Dressed in light blue jeans and a plaid shirt, the 31-year-old reporter looked calm and even smiled at times as he stood inside a glass cage to appeal his detention.
Russian journalist Vasily Polonsky posted a video online of Gerhskovich nodding as Polonsky yelled at him: “Evan, hang in there. Everybody say hello!”
Russia’s Federal Security Service detained the 31-year-old man in Yekaterinburg in March and accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.
This was a pre-trial hearing on his ongoing detention. This is not a verdict on the espionage charges Gershkovich faces.
Gershkovich, his employer and the US government deny he was involved in espionage and have demanded his release.
“Evan is a member of the free press who, until he was arrested, was a newsgatherer. Any suggestion to the contrary is false,” the Journal said in a statement.
Last week, the United States officially declared that Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained.”
A Moscow City Court judge on Tuesday rejected the reporter’s detention appeal and ruled that he must remain in jail until at least May 29.
Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Russian lawyers have said previous investigations into spying cases took anywhere from a year to 18 months, during which time he had little contact with the outside world.
He has been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which dates back to the tsarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times.
The arrest comes at a time of bitter tensions between the West and Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine and as the Kremlin steps up its crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and civil society groups.
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