Jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich appeared in a Moscow court on Tuesday to appeal his detention on espionage charges, part of a broad Kremlin campaign against dissent amid the war in Ukraine. He and the US government strongly deny the allegations.
Journalists and supporters in court had their first glimpse in weeks of the Wall Street Journal reporter, who is the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia for alleged espionage.
Russia’s Federal Security Service detained the 31-year-old man in Yekaterinburg on March 29 and charged him with trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.
Gershkovich, his employer and the US government deny that he was involved in espionage and have demanded his release.
The Moscow City Court will consider a defense appeal of his detention on Tuesday.
Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Russian lawyers have said previous investigations into spying cases took anywhere from a year to 18 months, during which time he had little contact with the outside world.
He has been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which dates back to the tsarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times.
The United States has pressured Moscow to grant Gershkovich consular access. On Monday, US Ambassador Lynne Tracy said she visited Gershkovich in prison for the first time since his arrest. Ella Tracy said on Twitter that she “is in good health and staying strong,” reiterating a call by the United States for his immediate release.
President Joe Biden spoke to Greshkovich’s parents last week and again condemned his arrest.
“We are making it very clear that what is happening is totally illegal, and we declare it so,” he said.
Last week, the US government declared Gershkovich “wrongfully detained,” a designation that means a particular State Department office takes the lead in seeking his release.
In December, American basketball star Brittney Griner was traded for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout following his trial and conviction on drug possession charges. She had been sentenced to nine years in prison and ended up spending 10 months behind bars.
Another American, Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, has been jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges, which his family and the US government have called baseless.
During the Griner case, the Kremlin repeatedly urged the United States to use a “special channel” between countries’ security agencies to work on a possible prisoner exchangesaying that such private communications were the only appropriate means for a resolution.
