A Russian court on Tuesday upheld the imprisonment of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on charges widely considered to be politically motivated.
An appeal from Gershkovich’s attorneys was rejected, keeping him detained until at least March 30, a day after the anniversary of the American journalist’s arrest by Russian authorities during a reporting trip, the Journal reports.
Gershkovich, 32, is considered by the U.S. government to be wrongfully detained by Russia. The Russian government has thus far failed to publicly produce evidence to substantiate its allegations of espionage against Gershkovich. The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones, its parent company, have vehemently denied the Russian government’s espionage allegations.
Gershkovich is the first American journalist to face espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War and is being held at the notoriously brutal Lefortovo Prison. The facility was used to carry out torture and executions during Josef Stalin’s tyrannical Soviet regime.
“I have just left the Moscow City Court, where the court has denied the appeal of Evan Gershkovich’s latest extension of detention. Evan is an American journalist whom Russian authorities have wrongfully detained for nearly an entire year. The U.S. position remains unchanged. The charges against Evan are absolutely baseless,” U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said in a statement following the Russian court’s ruling.
“The charges against Evan are absolutely baseless. The Russian government locked Evan up for simply reporting news. When the Kremlin uses lives as political bargaining chips, real people suffer,” Tracy added.
She is expected to visit Gershkovich in prison Wednesday to check on his condition. His parents said in January he is sending them weekly letters and his attorneys are communicating with him on a regular basis.
Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed openness to a prisoner swap involving Gershkovich in an interview earlier this month with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Putin vaguely suggested the U.S. and Russia were engaging in diplomatic talks surrounding Gershkovich’s release after being pressed by Carlson to address Gershkovich’s detainment.
Nonetheless, Putin repeated the Russian government’s espionage allegations and did not specifically demand the release of any prisoners in exchange for Gershkovich.
“He’s not just a journalist, I reiterate he’s a journalist who was secretly getting confidential information,” Putin said. “I do not rule out that person you refer to, Mr. Gershkovich, may return to his motherland by the day it does not make any sense to keep him in prison in Russia.”
The U.S. government is also seeking the release of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been wrongfully detained for over five years.