Russian court upholds US reporter Gershkovich’s detention
Mike Brest
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A Moscow court upheld the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last month and is being held on espionage charges that the U.S. government denies.
Gershkovich, 31, was denied bail and ordered to remain in the capital’s Lefortovo prison on Tuesday. He’ll be in pretrial detention until May 29, though Russian authorities can seek an extension of that period. He appeared in the courtroom in a glass cage, in which he stood for the proceedings.
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“On April 18, 2023, the Moscow City Court upheld the decision of the Lefortovsky District Court of Moscow dated March 30, 2023 against Evan Gershkovich, who is suspected of committing a crime under Art. 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” the court said in a statement.
Gershkovich’s lawyers said they offered bail amounting to about $613,000 to the court to secure Gershkovich’s release, but the court denied bail.
“We suggested that the court consider the choice of preventive measures not related to isolation from society, including house arrest, since Evan has a registration in the territory of Moscow; or a ban on certain actions; or a bail in the amount of 50 million rubles,” lawyer Maria Korchagina said, according to CNN. “Dow Jones, the owner of the WSJ, provided a letter of guarantee that if Evan is released from custody, they are ready to provide bail in the amount of 50 million rubles. But our request was denied.”
Virtually all espionage cases in Russia end in a guilty verdict, and Gershkovich is facing up to 20 years in prison.
The U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, was at the hearing.
“The charges are baseless, and we call on the Russian Federation to immediately release” Gershkovich, Tracy told reporters on the courthouse steps after the hearing, according to the Wall Street Journal. She met with him on Monday and said, “He is in good health and remains strong. We reiterate our call for his immediate release.”
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The State Department determined last week that he meets the criteria to be considered wrongfully detained, or essentially a political prisoner, which puts his case under the purview of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. The office, led by Roger Carstens, has additional resources to allocate to the cases that fall under their responsibility.
The arrest of Gershkovich, on charges supposedly unrelated to his reporting, is an example of an increasingly restricted press amid the war in Ukraine, which is nearing its 14-month mark.