A Russian court on Tuesday rejected a complaint from American reporter Evan Gershkovich over the extension of his pre-trial detention until March 30 over espionage charges that he denies, the court’s press service said.
Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested on March 29 by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Urals city of Ekaterinburg on charges of espionage, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
It is the first time the journalist has appeared in court since Vladimir Putin’s infamous interview with Tucker Carlson, in which the Russian president said Gershkovich’s release was possible.
‘If our partners take mutual steps. The special services are in contact with each other. They are talking… I believe an agreement can be reached,” Putin said in the widely publicized interview.
The latest court appearance also comes just days after Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was found dead at the age of 47 in a penal colony in the Arctic Circle.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich pictured in Moscow court on February 20
Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on March 29 on charges of espionage
US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy makes a statement outside the Moscow court after Gershkovich’s hearing
According to the Wall Street Journal, it could be months before Gershkovich’s trial even begins. Legal experts told the newspaper that Russian prosecutors are given wide leeway, especially in espionage cases.
A guilty conviction can result in a sentence of between 10 and 20 years.
In December, it emerged that the Biden administration had made a new and important offer to secure the release of Gershkovich and fellow prisoner Paul Whelan, but Russia rejected the offer, the State Department said on Tuesday.
Spokesman Matthew Miller did not reveal the details of the offer or why Russia had rejected it, but the revelation of the proposal was a new indication that Washington continues to try to negotiate with Moscow to bring both men home.
‘This was a new proposal in recent weeks. It was an important proposal,” Miller said. “And it was rejected by the Russians, but that’s not the case. It won’t stop us from continuing to do everything we can to bring them both home.”
Whelan, a corporate security manager from Michigan, has been jailed in Russia since his arrest in December 2018 on espionage-related charges that both he and the U.S. government dispute. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
‘They should never have been arrested in the first place. They must be released immediately,” Miller said.
“But we have made a number of proposals in recent weeks, including a substantial one, and we will continue to work every day to get Evan and Paul Whelan home. There is no prior higher priority for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. There is no higher priority for the president.”
In July 2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that the US had made a substantial offer to Moscow to bring home WNBA star Brittney Griner and Whelan. Griner was eventually released in December following a prisoner swap with notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, but Whelan was not part of that deal.
Former US Marine Paul Whelan, who was detained and charged with espionage, stands in a defendant’s cage during his sentencing hearing in Moscow on June 15, 2020
David Barnes was arrested in Moscow in January 2022, shortly after arriving in the Russian capital
Just last week, a Texas father of two was sentenced to 21 years in prison in Moscow on Tuesday after a court found him guilty of abusing his two sons in the US.
David Barnes, 66, was first arrested in January 2022, shortly after arriving in Russia to visit his children and their mother, his ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva. Barnes applied for visitation rights at the time.
Koptyaeva was accused of unlawfully taking the children from their home in the US, prompting an Interpol warning for the two boys. The couple had an acrimonious divorce in which she accused him of sexually abusing their child.
His trial began in the fall of 2022, but was held non-consecutively. This week it was finally completed. During the proceedings, Barnes testified on his own behalf, reports said ABC news.
In response, his lawyer, Gleb Glinka, told the channel she was “shocked” by the verdict. “There was virtually no evidence on which the court could base that judgment.”
After the verdict, Koptyaeva rejected the claim that she had kidnapped her children. ‘I didn’t steal anyone. I was just protecting my children,” she said.
