The Moscow City Court ruled to extend the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, facing espionage charges he denies. Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg. The court upheld the decision to keep him in custody until the end of March, meaning he’ll spend at least a year in jail. Both Gershkovich and the Journal deny the allegations, with the U.S. government declaring his detention wrongful. Russian authorities haven’t presented evidence supporting the charges. Gershkovich is the first American reporter charged with espionage in Russia since 1986.
He’s held at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, known for its harsh conditions. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested negotiating a deal to exchange Gershkovich for a Russian prisoner in Germany. Putin claimed Gershkovich was caught obtaining classified information, hinting at potential negotiations between intelligence agencies. He referenced Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany for a 2019 killing allegedly orchestrated by Russian authorities.
German officials haven’t confirmed any swap discussions with Russia or involvement with the U.S. State Department. Despite several proposals, Russia has rejected offers to release Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a Michigan security executive jailed in Russia since December 2018 on disputed espionage charges. Whelan received a 16-year prison sentence. In a separate case, a German citizen, Patrick Schobel, was detained in St. Petersburg for drug smuggling after bringing cannabis gummies into Russia. Some analysts speculate Moscow may use jailed Americans as bargaining tools amid heightened U.S.-Russian tensions over Ukraine.
