US reporter Gershkovich appears in Russian court to appeal detention
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[April 18, 2023]
By Guy Faulconbridge
MOSCOW (Reuters) -U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, who denies a Russian
accusation he is a spy, appeared in a Moscow courtroom on Tuesday at a
hearing to appeal a decision to keep him in pre-trial detention in a
former KGB prison until at least May 29.
Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, looked calm and
smiled as he stood in a glass and metal cage, wearing a checked shirt
with his arms folded in front of him.
He did not say anything, but turned around when one of the Russian
reporters in the courtroom told him to "Hold fast!" and relayed to him
that everyone said "Hi". U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy stood nearby.
Russia's FSB security service arrested Gershkovich on March 29 in the
Urals city of Yekaterinburg on espionage charges that carry a possible
20-year prison sentence for collecting what it said were state secrets
about the military industrial complex, a charge he denies.
The Kremlin has said Gershkovich, the first U.S. journalist detained in
Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, was caught
"red-handed."
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The United States has deemed him "wrongfully detained," his employer and
colleagues have said he is innocent, and President Joe Biden has called
his detention illegal.
Tuesday's hearing is essentially procedural, covering how Gershkovich
should be detained as he awaits trial, not about the substance of the
charges against him as investigators are still working on the details of
the case.
Court documents gave nothing more than basic details about the case. The
court said it was forbidden to publish some documents. A Russian lawyer
for Gershkovich did not respond to a request for comment.
Gershkovich, the American son of Soviet emigres, is being held at the
Lefortovo prison, which in Soviet times was run by the KGB but is now
operated by the Federal Penitentiary Service.
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![](../images/041823PIX/news_r4.jpg)
Reporter for U.S. newspaper The Wall
Street Journal Evan Gershkovich appears in this handout picture
taken in Moscow, Russia, 2019. The Moscow Times/Handout via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/05/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png)
Traditionally it has been used to hold those suspected by the FSB of
spying and other grave crimes.
Tracy, the U.S. Ambassador, said on Monday she had made her first
visit to Gershkovich.
"He feels well and is holding up. We reiterate our call for Evan's
immediate release," Tracy said in a statement.
In Washington, the White House said it hopes to get regular consular
access to Gershkovich.
"It was good to get to see him today and again we want to make sure
we can continue to do that," White House national security
spokesperson John Kirby said.
The United States last week designated Gershkovich as "wrongfully
detained", in effect saying that the spy charges were bogus and the
case was political.
The U.S. hostage envoy has pledged to do "whatever it takes" to
bring home Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, an American ex-Marine who
was convicted of espionage in 2020 and has also been designated by
Washington as wrongfully detained.
A spokesperson for The Wall Street Journal did not respond on Monday
to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Guy FaulconbridgeWriting by Guy Faulconbridge/Andrew
Osborn Editing by Gareth Jones, Angus MacSwan, Peter Graff)
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