Moscow Court Rejects American Journalist's Appeal Against Extended Detention

A court in Moscow on Tuesday, October 10, rejected the appeal of Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for the American newspaper Wall Street Journal, regarding the extension of his detention prior to his trial. More than six months have passed since Mr. Gershkovich's detention, and he remains in 'pre-trial detention.' The Russian Federal Security Service arrested 31-year-old Evan Gershkovich in the city of Yekaterinburg on March 29 of this year (April 9, 2023) on charges of espionage. Mr. Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War. According to Reuters, Yuri Passionin, the judge, stated on Tuesday that the court intends to uphold its previous decision to extend Mr. Gershkovich's pre-trial detention. This decision means that Mr. Gershkovich will remain in custody, with no date set for his trial. Meanwhile, the Federal Security Service of Russia has not yet provided any evidence in this case. The court session on Tuesday was held behind closed doors due to the 'classified nature of the case,' and journalists were only allowed to listen to the court's decision via a link in another part of the court. The Federal Security Service claims that Evan Gershkovich was attempting to obtain military secrets and was arrested 'in the act.' However, the White House has called these accusations 'ridiculous,' and President Joe Biden stated that his detention is 'absolutely unlawful.' The Wall Street Journal has also denied the charges against its journalist and called for his immediate release. In a statement, the newspaper said: 'As expected, the court once again rejected Gershkovich's appeal. It has now been more than six months since Evan's unjust arrest, and we are outraged that he is wrongfully detained. The charges against him are completely false, and we demand his immediate release.' Evan Gershkovich was born to a family of former Soviet immigrants and grew up in New Jersey. Fluent in Russian, he moved to Moscow in late 2017 to work with the English-language publication Moscow Times and later worked for Agence France-Presse. In February 2022, when he intended to return to Russia from London to work with the Wall Street Journal's Moscow office, Russia announced the start of a 'special military operation' in Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal decided that he would live in London but travel to Russia as a reporter. According to this report, the case against Evan Gershkovich is part of the Kremlin's program to suppress dissent and press freedom during its war against Ukraine.