American journalist Evan Gershkovich hits grim one year milestone in Russian ... trends now
American journalist Evan Gershkovich has hit the one-year anniversary of his detention in Russian jail as tributes are made across the globe over his wrongful arrest.
The Wall Street Journal reporter, 32, was taken into custody on March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, intending to cover the mercenary 'Wagner' militia.
The FSB, Russia's counterintelligence force, accused Gershkovich of collecting state defense secrets on his trip. While Russian officials said he was caught 'red handed', no evidence has ever been released.
As the first American journalist accused of espionage since the Cold War, experts have blamed geopolitics and Putin's ruthless approach as the reason for his ongoing detention, despite vehement denials from Gershkovich and the White House.
Evan Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on a reporting trip one year ago on Friday. He has been hauled into Russian court a dozen times since, pictured at the Moscow City Court on December 14, 2023
The Wall Street Journal reporter has been classified as 'wrongfully detained' by the White House since his arrest, and he spends 23 hours a day in his cell
To mark the one-year anniversary of his arrest, the Wall Street Journal published a powerful blank page with the headline: 'His Story Should Be Here'
The Wall Street Journal was praised for its powerful Friday morning newspaper front page, which featured a blank space with the headline: 'His Story Should Be Here.'
'A year in Russian Prison. A year of stolen stories, stolen joys, stolen memories. The crime: journalism,' the sub-headline read.
In his year behind bars, Gershkovich has been hauled before Russian pre-trial court a dozen times, each time seeing his appeals expectantly rejected and his detention extended.
At each visit, the 32-year-old's friends and family are given a glimpse of him via court cameras - where he is often seen defiantly smiling.
Gershkovich's mother, Ella Milman, a Jewish immigrant who settled in the US from the Soviet Union in 1979, told the Associated Press that seeing her son locked up in such a way is 'always a mixed feeling.'
'I’m happy to see him and that he’s doing well, but it’s a reminder that he is not with us. We want him at home,' she said. In an interview on Friday to mark the one-year anniversary, Milman said his situation is 'still as painful as ever.'
His most recent appearance came on Tuesday, where a judge ordered he remain behind yet again, this time until at least June 30.
The extensions are only until he eventually stands trial, where he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
Gershkovich is often seen wryly smiling in his numerous pre-trial court appearances, where his detention is routinely set back. His family say the occasional glimpses of him are 'always a mixed feeling'
Tributes and messages of support for Gershkovich have poured in over the past year. President Biden is pictured paying his respects at the White House Correspondents Dinner a month after his arrest in April 2023
Gershkovich has been held at the Lefortovsky Prison for a year, where he is confined to his cell and entertains himself only with mail from family and friends, occasional Arsenal replays on TV, and Russian history books from the prison library
An expert in Russian culture and history, Gershkovich had moved to Russia in 2017 to work for The
