Russia: Court Rejects WSJ Reporter's Detention Appeal

Facts

• Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain in prison in Moscow for at least another two months, a court ruled on Tuesday, rejecting his latest appeal to end his pre-trial detention in an alleged espionage case.¹
• The First Appeal Court in Moscow ruled that the March 26 order to extend the 'preventative measure' should remain in place. Gershkovich's appeal followed an earlier ruling to keep him in custody until at least June 30, pending a trial.²
• In a statement, the Wall Street Journal termed Gershkovich's continued detention 'outrageous' and called on Washington to work for the immediate release of its 'wrongfully detained' correspondent in Russia.³
• Without presenting evidence for its claim, Moscow said that the 32-year-old reporter had been caught 'red-handed' in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg while trying to obtain defense secrets for US intelligence.⁴
• Gershkovich, who had previously worked for AFP and the Moscow Times in the Russian capital, is the first Western journalist to be charged with espionage in Russia since the Cold War. He, his employer, and the US government deny the accusations.⁵
• In jail in Moscow's Lefortovo prison for over a year, Gershkovich is one of two American journalists imprisoned in Russia. The Russian-US dual citizen Alsu Kurmasheva, charged with failure to register as a foreign agent, has remained in custody since October 2023.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²France 24, ³wsj.com, ⁴Times, ⁵The Moscow Times and ⁶Voice of America.

Narratives

• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT International. While the hypocritical West exploits the Gershkovich case for its anti-Russian propaganda, it's worth taking a closer look at the matter. After all, it's no secret that the CIA recruited dozens of US journalists as spies during the Cold War, and there's little reason to believe that this practice was abandoned — as the Gershkovich case suggests. Secretly collecting classified information is still considered espionage, and the Russian judiciary will make an appropriate judgment.
• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Voice of America. That the Moscow court has also rejected Gershkovich's latest appeal is further proof of the Putin regime's arbitrary rule. Moscow is holding Gershkovich hostage under the bogus and politically motivated pretext of espionage and wants to trade him for Russian criminals imprisoned abroad. Journalism must never be instrumentalized or silenced through persecution and intimidation, and if the regime has any last sense of justice, Gershkovich must be released immediately.

Predictions