Reporter held on spy counts to stay jailed
MOSCOW » A Russian judge ruled Tuesday that American journalist Evan Gershkovich must remain behind bars on espionage charges in a case that is part of a crackdown the Kremlin has intensified on dissent and press freedom since invading Ukraine.
Appearing in public for the first time in weeks, the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter stood in a defendant's glass cage in Moscow City Court, wearing blue jeans and a navy blue gingham checked shirt. He paced at times with his arms folded, talking through an opening with his lawyers and occasionally smiling as he acknowledged the other journalists crammed into the courtroom for photos before the hearing was closed because Russian authorities have declared the case secret.
Gershkovich is the first U.S. correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying charges, and his arrest rattled journalists in the country and drew outrage in the West. Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government deny he was involved in spying and have demanded his release.
“Evan is a member of the free press who right up until he was arrested was engaged in newsgathering. Any suggestions otherwise are false,” the Journal has said. Last week, the U.S. officially declared that Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained.”
Russia's Federal Security Service arrested Gershkovich in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg on March 29 and accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.
In rejecting Gershkovich's appeal to be released from pretrial detention, the judge ruled he must remain in jail until at least May 29. The journalist's lawyers said they petitioned for house arrest or for his release on bail of 50 million rubles (about $610,000), but were rejected. The lawyers said they plan to appeal the ruling, which the Journal and its publisher, Dow Jones, called “disappointing.”
Russian journalist Vasily Polonsky posted a video in which he shouts, “Evan, hang in there. Everyone says hello!” Gershkovich then nods.
Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Russian lawyers have said past espionage investigations took a year to 18 months, during which time he could have little contact with the outside world.
He is held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, which dates from the czarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times, especially under Josef Stalin.
“It's not a very nice place in general, but conditions are OK.
“He doesn't complain,” his lawyer, Tatyana Nozhkina, said after Tuesday's hearing.
Gershkovich had no medical complaints and was getting exercise by walking, she said.