A Moscow district court rejected imprisoned journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against the extension of his pre-trial detention on Thursday, guaranteeing the Wall Street Journal reporter will remain at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison until at least August 30.
Gershovich was arrested in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in late March while on a reporting trip and was accused of spying for America. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on espionage charges.
The Journal condemned the ruling in a statement published following the news.
“Although the outcome was expected, it is no less an outrage that his detention continues to be upheld. Evan has been wrongfully detained for more than 12 weeks for nothing more than doing his job as a journalist. We continue to demand his immediate release,” the statement read.
We’re in the Moscow courtroom where Evan Gershkovich is appealing the extension of his pre-trial detention. It’s 12 weeks since the Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in Russia and charged with espionage. He & his employer vehemently deny the charge. pic.twitter.com/MgHIhRdiGl
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) June 22, 2023
Lynne Tracy, the American Ambassador to Russia, was present at the ruling. “The charges against him are baseless,” the Biden appointee told reporters following the announcement. “He is an innocent journalist who was carrying out journalistic activities and has been wrongfully detained. Such hostage diplomacy is unacceptable and we call on the Russian Federation to release him,” Tracy added.
Gershkovich’s parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershovich, who emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1979, also attended the hearing. “I want to scream and say ‘Give me back my son,’” his mother told the Journal before traveling to Russia. “It’s very hard, but I will be there smiling. I will be smiling for Evan, and they are not going to see my tears.”
The U.S. government declared him “wrongfully detained” in April and has repeatedly called for his release.
“Today, Secretary Blinken made a determination that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia,” a State Department notice in early April read. “Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth.”
The designation means that the United States considers Gershovich to be a political prisoner held on false charges. Human-rights groups believe more than 50 American citizens are wrongfully detained in countries, including China, Russia, and Iran. Brittney Griner, a basketball player arrested in 2022 for possessing cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage at a Moscow airport, held a similar status before she was released in a prisoner swap in December.
Gershovich is the first American journalist arrested on espionage charges by Russia since the end of the Cold War.