US reporter held by Russia on spying charges denied release

Associated Press

A Russian judge ruled Tuesday that American journalist Evan Gershkovich must remain behind bars on espionage charges in a case that is part of a crackdown the Kremlin intensified on dissent and press freedom since invading Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited command posts of his forces fighting in Ukraine for the second time in two months, officials said Tuesday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his latest trip near the front line.

The visits — on different days and in different provinces — sought to stiffen the resolve of soldiers as the war approaches its 14th month and as Kyiv readies a possible counteroffensive with Western-supplied weapons.

Some of the most significant of those weapons appeared to have recently arrived in Ukraine. Germany’s official federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine.

<p>Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage Tuesday in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court.</p>

Alexander Zemlianichenko, Associated Press

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage Tuesday in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court.

Appearing in public for the first time in weeks, Gershkovich stood in a defendant’s glass cage in Moscow City Court, wearing blue jeans and a navy blue gingham checked shirt. The 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter paced at times with his arms folded, talking with his lawyers through an opening and occasionally smiling as he acknowledged the other journalists crammed into the courtroom for photos before the hearing was closed because Russian authorities have declared the case secret.

Gershkovich is the first U.S. correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying charges, and his arrest rattled journalists in the country and drew outrage in the West. Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government deny he was involved in spying and demanded his release.

“Evan is a member of the free press who right up until he was arrested was engaged in newsgathering. Any suggestions otherwise are false,” the Journal has said. Last week, the U.S. officially declared that Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained.”

Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested Gershkovich in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg on March 29 and accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.

In rejecting Gershkovich’s appeal to be released from pretrial detention, the judge ruled he must remain in jail until at least May 29. The journalist’s lawyers said they petitioned for house arrest or for his release on bail of 50 million rubles — about $610,000 in U.S. currency — but were rejected. The lawyers said they plan to appeal the ruling, which the Journal and its publisher, Dow Jones, called “disappointing.”

<p>Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's lawyers Maria Korchagina and Tatiana Nozhkina speak to the media Tuesday after a hearing in Moscow City Court.</p>

Alexander Zemlianichenko, Associated Press

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's lawyers Maria Korchagina and Tatiana Nozhkina speak to the media Tuesday after a hearing in Moscow City Court.

Russian journalist Vasily Polonsky posted a video in which he shouts, “Evan, hang in there. Everyone says hello!” Gershkovich then nods.

Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Russian lawyers have said past espionage investigations took a year to 18 months, during which time he could have little contact with the outside world.

He is held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which dates from the czarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times, especially under Josef Stalin.

“It’s not a very nice place in general, but conditions are OK. He doesn’t complain,” his lawyer, Tatyana Nozhkina, said after Tuesday’s hearing.

<p>Journalists watch a TV screen broadcasting a hearing Tuesday on Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's case from a courtroom at the Moscow City Court.</p>

Alexander Zemlianichenko, Associated Press

Journalists watch a TV screen broadcasting a hearing Tuesday on Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's case from a courtroom at the Moscow City Court.

Gershkovich had no medical complaints and was getting exercise by walking, she said, adding that he also was watching a cooking show on TV and reading, including Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.”

“He said that in the morning he eats porridge, and he wrote to his mother that it looks like his childhood,” Nozhkina said, a reference to his Russian heritage. His parents moved to the United States from the Soviet Union.

“He’s in good fighting spirit. He’s ready to prove his innocence and defend media freedom,” she said.

She added that Gershkovich received letters from his parents and supporters, but hasn’t been allowed any phone calls. He also told his lawyers he was thinking about writing a book about the ordeal when he’s free.

The case exacerbated tensions between Moscow and the West over the invasion of Ukraine and is another sign of the Kremlin’s crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and civil society groups. 

<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses for a selfie with a soldier Tuesday at a position in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine.</p>

Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses for a selfie with a soldier Tuesday at a position in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has become largely deadlocked, with heavy fighting in the east, particularly around the Donestk province city of Bakhmut, which for 8½ months has seen the longest and bloodiest battle so far.

At least three civilians were killed and 11 wounded in Ukraine between Monday and Tuesday, according to Zelenskyy’s office. Most of the casualties occurred in the Donbas, the eastern region made up of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, the office said. Six people were wounded in artillery fire in the city of Kherson.

Zelenskyy’s visits to areas feeling the brunt of Russia’s full-scale invasion gathered pace last month as he shuttled across the country, often by train. As with Putin, the Ukrainian president’s wartime trips usually aren’t publicized until afterward.

While official coverage of Putin’s trip showed him in mostly formal and ceremonious settings, Zelenskyy’s office issued photos showing the Ukrainian president taking selfies with soldiers, eating cake with them and drinking out of paper cups.

Categories: World News