A Moscow court denied Wall Street Journal journalist American Evan Gershkovich's request for release and instead extended his espionage-related detention until late August.
The Thursday Court Hearing
Gershkovich, 31, who was detained in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in late March while on a reporting trip, wore a black T-shirt and blue trousers and appeared nervous as he waited for his court hearing in Moscow on Thursday, June 22.
As he waited for the trial to begin, the Bowdoin College alum paced and spoke to his parents. Lynne Tracy, the US Ambassador, was also there.
According to the New York Post, the other reporters were also removed from the courtroom after a while, and the trial was held in private. Two screens were set up outside so that reporters could observe the decision.
Tracy expressed her extreme disappointment with the court's ruling to the press following the hearing. She claims that the Russian government is making false accusations against an "innocent journalist."
"Evan continued to show remarkable strength and resiliency in these very difficult circumstances," she added. "Such hostage diplomacy is unacceptable, and we call on the Russian Federation to release him."
Arrested on Espionage Accusations
In late March, Gershkovich was reporting in Yekaterinburg when he was arrested on espionage accusations. Al Jazeera said at the time that his imprisonment was the first time an American journalist had been detained on suspicion of espionage since the end of the Cold War.
The Federal Security Service has accused Gershkovich of spying on a top-secret military plant, but they have not revealed any proof yet.
While both Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal have refuted the allegations, the US government has sought his release on many occasions.
New York Post said that the Moscow court prolonged Gershkovich's incarceration by three months at the end of May and ordered him to be imprisoned at the notoriously cruel Lefortovo jail until August 30. His legal team filed an appeal against the verdict, but it was upheld on Thursday.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, told reporters that the government is examining the embassy's request for a return visit.
As an American Journalist in Russia
Gershkovich had been a journalist for Wall Street Journal in London for a little over a year when he was arrested. He is the son of Russian Jews who emigrated to the US, and he grew up in New Jersey before working for Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times.
Before he was arrested, his last broadcast from Moscow detailed the economic collapse in Russia as a result of Western sanctions implemented after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Gershkovich sent a letter to his loved ones at the beginning of April, sharing his positive outlook on his condition. "I want to say that I am not losing hope... I read. I exercise. And I am trying to write. Maybe, finally, I am going to write something good."
