Judge Upholds Detention Of Jailed Journalist Evan Gershkovich

The imprisonment of imprisoned American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained on suspicion of spying as part of a massive Kremlin crackdown on dissent amid the conflict in Ukraine, was affirmed by a Russian judge on Tuesday.

The US government and Mr. Gershkovich vigorously refute the accusations. The arrest of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter, the first American correspondent held in Russia since the Cold War on suspicion of espionage, alarmed local media and sparked an outcry in the West.

Numerous media representatives flocked to the courthouse to see Mr. Gershkovich, who appeared composed as he stood within a glass cage to contest his arrest. The 31-year-old was seized by the Russian federal security service in Yekaterinburg in March on suspicion of attempting to gather sensitive information about a Russian military plant.

He was not engaged in spying, according to Gershkovich, his employer, and the US government, who have all sought his release. The WSJ and Dow Jones, its publisher, referred to the decision upholding Gershkovich’s imprisonment as “disappointing.”

“Evan is a member of the free press who right up until he was arrested was engaged in newsgathering. Any suggestions otherwise are false,” the WSJ has said in a statement.

The US formally stated last week that Mr. Gershkovich had been “wrongfully detained.”

If found guilty, he may spend up to 20 years behind bars. According to Russian attorneys, prior espionage case investigations took a year to 18 months, during which time he was mostly cut off from the outside world.

He has been detained in the Lefortovo jail in Moscow, which was built during the tsarist era and has served as a horrific reminder of oppression ever since the Soviet Union. The arrest occurs while Moscow and the West are at odds over its invasion of Ukraine and as the Kremlin steps up its campaign against opposition activists, independent media, and civil society organizations.

The sweeping campaign of repression is unprecedented since the Soviet era. Activists say it often means the very profession of journalism is criminalized, along with the activities of ordinary Russians who oppose the war.

Last month, a Russian court convicted a father over social media posts critical of the war and sentenced him to two years in prison.

On Monday, a Russian court convicted top opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr of treason for publicly denouncing the war and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The US has pressed Moscow to grant consular access to Mr Gershkovich. US Ambassador Lynne Tracy, who attended Tuesday’s hearing, said a day earlier that she had visited Mr Gershkovich in prison.

She said on Twitter that “he is in good health and remains strong,” reiterating a US call for his immediate release. US president Joe Biden spoke to Mr. Gershkovich’s parents last week and again condemned his detention.

“We’re making it really clear that it’s totally illegal what’s happening, and we declared it so,” he said.

Mr. Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested.

Mr. Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union’s United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges. Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union’s United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges.

A top Russian diplomat said last week that Russia might be willing to discuss a potential prisoner swap with the US involving Mr. Gershkovich after his trial. That means any exchange is unlikely to happen any time soon.

In December, American basketball star Brittney Griner was exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout following her trial and conviction on drug possession charges.

She had been sentenced to nine years in prison and ended up spending 10 months behind bars. Another American, Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges, which his family and the US government have called baseless.