Evan Gershkovich loses appeal for release during pre-trial extension in Moscow

Evan Gershkovich, the American Wall Street Journal reporter being held in a Russian prison on charges of espionage, lost an appeal today in court. His extended detention remains in place. He was ordered to remain in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison until at least August 30.Gershkovich was held in a transparent box in the courtroom. It is being reported that he smiled briefly and was wearing a dark t-shirt and jeans.

In May, a Moscow district court judge granted a request from the Federal Security Service (FSB) to extend his detention while he is waiting to go to trial. His lawyer appealed that ruling and that is why Evan was in court again today.

I’ve written about Evan’s arrest and detention several times and every time, I feel a little conflicted. To be honest, I think his case is getting more attention, more quickly, than other Americans being detained in Russia. The reason he is getting more attention than some is because he is a reporter for a large, well-respected media outlet, the Wall Street Journal. Evan is a WSJ reporter based in Moscow, reporting out of its bureau there. He is the first reporter to be detained in Russia since the end of the Cold War. That gives his case a little extra interest and his employer is doing a good job keeping his case in its news coverage. I don’t begrudge any of that, in fact I expect it. I just feel compelled to mention others being detained in Russia, too. The ones who don’t get the extra coverage. It’s also how I felt about Brittney Griner, the WNBA player who was able to rally support among other professional athletes, the White House, and professional black women groups to demand her release. Would she have gotten a prisoner swap as quickly as she did if she was not a female professional basketball player? Probably not.

Anyway, Evan is 31 years old and he is accredited by Russia’s Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist. They gave him permission to work as a journalist in Russia. That is what makes the allegations of espionage against him even more egregious. He was doing his job, on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, on March 29, when he was arrested while having dinner in a steakhouse. The espionage charges are denied by the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. government, and Evan. His family has publicly defended him, too, and his parents recently traveled to Moscow to attend one of his court appearances. His parents are Russian immigrants to America and are very familiar with the treatment their son is likely experiencing in prison.

The Russians keep moving the goalposts. Initially, Evan’s pretrial detention was set to expire May 29. Requests from his lawyers to be transferred to house arrest have been denied, though he agreed to constraints on his movements. He was denied bail in April. Clearly, Evan is being held as a bargaining chip for whatever prisoner swap Mad Vlad Putin is looking to make. Griner’s swap was in exchange for the return of the Merchant of Death, Viktor Bout, the world’s most notorious arms dealer, to Russia.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, who was present in the Moscow courthouse on Thursday morning, said after that ruling that, “We were extremely disappointed by the denial of his appeal.”

“The charges against him are baseless,” she said outside the courthouse, “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, as well as Paul Whelan and other U.S. citizens who have been wrongfully detained and we call for that release to occur immediately.”

Whelan, an American businessman, was convicted in 2020 on espionage charges and sentenced to serve 16 years in prison.

The Wall Street Journal released a statement.

In a statement, The Wall Street Journal said, “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.”

His parents attended this hearing, too. They were able to stand next to the box Evan was in and speak with their son before the hearing got underway. His mother spoke out about remaining strong despite the emotional toll this takes on her and his family in a phone call before the trip to Moscow.

In a phone call before their trip to Moscow, Milman said she felt it was important to see their son in person and show that they are standing with him.

“I want to scream and say ‘Give me back my son,’” Milman said in the call. “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,” she said.

Let’s hope the Biden administration finds a way to get Evan, Paul Whelan, and Marc Fogel released from Russian prisons as quickly as possible.