Array
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is approaching the one-year mark of when he was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service, (FSB) while on a reporting trip.
A Russian court extended his pre-trial detention by three months. A trial date has not been set. He is 32 years old now and was detained on March 29, 2023. He is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison. He is charged with espionage.
What sets Evan’s detention apart from other American citizens being held in Russia is that he is a reporter. He is the first reporter to be detained in Russia on an allegation of espionage since the end of the Cold War.
Evan, the Wall Street Journal, the State Department, and his family deny that Evan is a spy. He was accredited by Russia’s Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist when he was detained. Evan’s court appearance was a closed hearing at the Moscow City Court. The FSB requested Evan remain behind bars as he awaits trial. He will be held until June 30 due to the latest ruling of the court.
Investigators are allowed up to a year in criminal cases that are deemed particularly complex to prepare for trial, according to Russian law. Extensions can be granted in exceptional circumstances.
Evan’s detention is indeed an exceptional circumstance from an American point of view. He’s the first journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War. That is an important distinction. This is Putin jabbing his finger in Joe Biden’s eye. Biden is perceived as weak on the world stage. Putin is emboldened and testing how far he can go. He is testing boundaries. And, he is detaining Americans to use as leverage to make prisoner swap deals he wants to make.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy released a statement. She said that Evan remains resilient and acknowledged that the ruling in favor of extending his detention was “particularly painful” since this week marks a year since he was detained.
“The accusations against Evan are categorically untrue. They are not a different interpretation of circumstances. They are fiction,” she said.
Gershkovich’s detention is “not about evidence, due process or rule of law,” Tracy said. It is about “using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends,” she added.
The Wall Street Journal also released a statement.
The Wall Street Journal said in a statement, “It’s a ruling that ensures Evan will sit in a Russian prison well past one year. It was also Evan’s 12th court appearance, baseless proceedings that falsely portray him as something other than what he is—a journalist who was doing his job.
