Question

Russia upholds sentence for WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich

Answer 1

This is true, 

Evan Gershkovich was denied bail in Moscow last week. This is according to The Hill news. 

He is currently being held on charges of espionage and could face up to 20 years in prison.

https://thehill.com/newsletters/defense-national-security/3957563-us-reporter-evan-gershkovich-denied-release-in-russia/ 

According to the Freedom of Press Index, Russia ranks 155/180 countries, and currently have 24 journalists in prison. 

https://rsf.org/en/index

Comments

Nice work providing a concise explanation and also a look at how Russia ranks in the Freedom of Press Index.

Answer 2

Yes, this is true.

 According to the Wall Street Journal, “A Moscow court on Tuesday upheld the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested while on a reporting trip last month and held on an allegation of espionage that the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny.” The article goes further on to say it’s rare for people to win appeals in cases like this there, it was held behind closed doors and he is being held in pretrial detention. He has pleaded not guilty to the spying charges. The Wall Street Journal’s parent company tried to also pay a bail to get him put on house arrest, but that was denied as well.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/moscow-court-to-hear-appeal-on-detention-of-jailed-wsj-reporter-evan-gershkovich-9c464c6c

The New York Times reported the same saying, “The judge, as expected, denied Mr. Gershkovich's appeal to lift his pretrial detention, leaving him in Russian custody. He was ordered back to Moscow's Lefortovo prison, one of the most infamous detention centers in Russia, where inmates are held in isolation with only rare visits by lawyers.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/world/europe/wsj-reporter-evan-gershkovich-moscow-court-detention.html#:~:text=The%20judge%2C%20as%20expected%2C%20denied,only%20rare%20visits%20by%20lawyers.

Answer 3

Yes, this is true.

Evan Gershkovich is just one of many journalists facing arrest this year. According to the Wall Street Journal, a record 363 journalists were detained last year, with Russia making 19 of those arrests. According to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, these attacks on the free press have been steadily increasing since 2000.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-record-number-of-journalists-were-detained-worldwide-prior-to-evan-gershkovichs-arrest-cae34b14

Answer 4

Yes, it is true that Russia upholds Evan Gershkovich's sentence. The WSJ journalist was first detained on March 29th by Russia's FSB security service and at a hearing last Tuesday, Gershkovich's appeal against detainment until his trial was denied. Although the WSJ and US government vehemently denies his involvement in espionage and argues he was simply doing his job, the Kremlin claims "Gershkovich was carrying out espionage 'under the cover' of journalism, while Lavrov told the US that Gershkovich was caught 'red-handed' while trying to obtain secrets". Since his detainment, hundreds of foreign correspondents and jouranlists have written to the Russian government calling for the drop of charges and his immediate release. As of today, Gershkovich remains detained in Lefortovo Prison in Moscow.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/24/journalists-who-have-worked-in-moscow-call-for-release-of-evan-gershkovich 

Comments

Thanks for including background information -- it's very useful for anyone unfamiliar with the situation.

Answer 5

This is true. On April 18th Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich had his day back in court to appeal his sentence. His appeal was denied and the sentence was upheld.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/russia-us-detained-reporter_n_643e71afe4b039ec4e7a65b5

Answer 6

Yes this is true. According to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal a russian court denied bail to WSJ reporter, Evan Gershkovich, upholding his sentence to detention for espionage until August 30. If charged he could face up to 20 years in prison. The United States believes Gershkovich was "wrongfully detained" and simply doing his job as a journalist, not being a spy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/world/europe/russia-evan-gershkovich-wall-street-journal.html#:~:text=Demands%20His%20Release-,A%20Russian%20court%20upholds%20a%20Wall%20Street%20Journal%20reporter%27s%20detention,with%20spying%2C%20which%20he%20denies.

https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/russian-court-upholds-wsj-reporters-detention/232a4127-08b3-4b35-b78f-2c23eccc9a2a