Journalist Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention extended again, almost a year after arrest

Journalist Evan Gershkovich will be held in a Russian prison for three months longer. This Friday will mark one year since the American was arrested on suspicion of espionage. A judge in Moscow today decided to extend Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention until June 30.

The hearing was behind closed doors, but a photo released by the Russian court shows the 32-year-old journalist smiling.

Gershkovich is a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and was arrested last year while reporting in Yekaterinburg. According to the Russian security service FSB, he tried to gather state secret information about a defense company. The Russians have not provided any evidence for this.

It is unclear what the precise charges are, including for Gershkovich himself. Like many political prisoners, he is not given access to his file. His lawyers are also not allowed to share anything because his case has been declared a state secret.

The US government and The Wall Street Journal strongly deny that Gershkovich is a spy. President Biden previously called his captivity “completely illegal”.

‘No fair trial’

The US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, attended today’s hearing and called the accusations against Gershkovich categorical lies. “Evan’s case has nothing to do with a fair trial. It is about using American citizens as pawns for political purposes,” the ambassador told the press after the hearing.

Gershkovich is being held in the high-security Lefortovo prison in Moscow, notorious for its harsh conditions.

Prisoner exchange

Russia more often arrests people from countries with which it has bad ties. Although the country denies this, it uses detained foreigners as a bargaining chip for Russian prisoners abroad.

Last October, Russia again arrested an American journalist. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was arrested in Kazan for allegedly failing to register as a “foreign agent”. Her pre-trial detention was extended in February until April 5.

In February, more than twenty foreign journalists were arrested in Moscow and briefly detained. They reported on a protest meeting of military wives on Red Square in Moscow. Among them were also a journalist and a cameraman from the NOS.