US journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendant鈥檚 cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his extended pre-trial detention at the Moscow City Court in Moscow on February 20, 2024. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained last March on spying charges during a reporting trip to the Urals. (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP)
Moscow, Russia 鈥� A Moscow court on Tuesday said jailed US journalist Evan Gershkovich would remain in pre-trial detention until at least March 30, ensuring he will spend at least a year behind bars, as a dual citizen was separately arrested in Russia.
Russian prosecutors have charged Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich with espionage 鈥� the first time such a criminal accusation has been leveled against a Western reporter in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.
READ: Putin says he hopes for prisoner swap for Gershkovich, Whelan but talks are 鈥榥ot simple鈥�
Gershkovich, his employers and the White House all reject the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.
鈥淕ershkovich will remain in custody until March 30, 2024,鈥� the Moscow courts service said in a statement following a hearing at the Moscow City Court.
The appeal was a technical challenge against an earlier decision to extend Gershkovich鈥檚 pre-trial detention. It did not concern the substance of the case.
His shock arrest by FSB counterintelligence agents in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg last March while on a reporting trip triggered uproar in Washington.
And the United States has slammed the Kremlin over his ongoing detention, which will hit the one-year mark on March 29.
鈥淭he charges against Evan are baseless. The Russian government has locked Evan up simply for reporting news,鈥� US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, who attended the hearing, said outside the court Tuesday.
President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month he would like to see Gershkovich released as part of a prisoner exchange.
In remarks to conservative American TV commentator Tucker Carlson, he said talks between Russia and the United States about a possible swap were ongoing.
The Russian leader made clear he wanted any deal to involve the release of a Russian jailed in Germany for killing a Chechen dissident.
Banning US-funded broadcaster聽
Russia separately on Tuesday banned US-funded Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), putting its staff and contributors at risk of prosecution.
The outlet鈥檚 name was listed on the Ministry of Justice database as an 鈥渦ndesirable organization.鈥�
In Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the move curbed freedom of speech.
鈥淚t is quite clear that they do not want their people to have information about what the Russian regime does abroad, what the Russian regime does to its own people,鈥� Miller told reporters.
Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who was arrested on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent, talks to lawyer Edgar Matevosyan during a hearing to consider her pre-trial detention as requested by prosecutors, at the Sovetski court in Kazan on October 20, 2023. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
That same day, the supreme court of Russia鈥檚 Tatarstan region rejected an appeal by a jailed RFE/RL editor, US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, to be transferred from pre-trial detention to house arrest, her employers reported.
Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague, had her passports confiscated and was arrested in October while back in Russia for a family emergency.
She faces charges of failing to register as a 鈥渇oreign agent鈥� and contravening Russia鈥檚 strict military censorship laws, her employers say.
RFE/RL said the court ordered Kurmasheva to be held in jail until at least April 4, rejecting the appeal, which had been lodged on health grounds.
Paul Whelan, a former US marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, stands inside a defendants鈥� cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
鈥楤argaining chips鈥櫬�
Washington has accused Moscow of arresting American citizens on baseless charges to use them as 鈥渂argaining chips鈥� to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.
Former US marine Paul Whelan, in prison in Russia since 2018 and serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges, is also pushing to be included in any future prisoner exchange.
鈥淭he United States will not rest until Evan and Paul are free and back home in the United States with their families,鈥� Tracy said.
Separately on Tuesday, Russia鈥檚 FSB security service said it had arrested a 33-year-old dual US-Russian citizen in Yekaterinburg 鈥� the same city where Gershkovich was arrested 鈥� on suspicion of treason.
It said the woman, a Los Angeles resident, had been helping Ukrainian organisations collect funds 鈥渢o purchase tactical medical items, equipment, means of destruction and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces鈥�.
The FSB said she had been acting 鈥渁gainst the security of our country鈥� and had been supporting the Ukrainian army while in the United States.
The United States said it was seeking consular access but declined further comment, citing privacy laws.
Treason is punishable by up to life in prison under legislation toughened since the start of Russia鈥檚 military offensive against Ukraine.