Evan Gershkovich: A Timeline of His 100 Days in Detainment

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Evan Gershkovich, a Russia correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, was detained 100 days ago while he was in Yekaterinburg on a reporting trip. He has been held since then in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison and accused of espionage, which he, the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Gershkovich, the 31-year-old American son of Soviet émigrés, has brought uncommon insight to the stories of everyday Russians.

He has committed no crime. He only did his job as a journalist.

Day 1: March 29, 2023

Gershkovich, who was accredited by Russia’s Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist, was detained in Yekaterinburg. He was subsequently taken to Moscow, where the Federal Security Service accused him of espionage, a charge he, the Journal and the U.S. government deny. Russian state television showed Gershkovich being escorted by plainclothes FSB officers.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was escorted by officers from a court in Moscow on March 30. PHOTO: ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Day 12: April 10

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken PHOTO: ELIZABETH FRANTZ/REUTERS

The U.S. State Department designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained, launching a broad government effort to exert pressure on Russia to free him. The move, which officials said was made with unprecedented speed, shifted the case to a State Department section known as the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, focused on negotiating for the release of hostages and other Americans classified as wrongfully detained in foreign countries.

Day 20: April 18

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich at a court hearing in Moscow on April 18. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, right, also attended. PHOTO: ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Moscow court upheld Gershkovich’s detention after a closed-door hearing, denying him bail and ordering him held before trial in the capital’s Lefortovo prison, which has often been used to house political prisoners. The U.S. ambassador, Lynne Tracy, who was allowed consular access to Gershkovich for the first time the day before, attended the hearing and later called for the immediate release of the reporter and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia.

Day 55: May 23

A Russian court extended until at least Aug. 30 the pretrial detention of Gershkovich, who the FSB accuses of collecting “information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.” The reporter’s parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, traveled to Moscow for the hearing. “Any parent who loves their kid would travel to the end of the world to be with them for five minutes,” Milman said.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. PHOTO: EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/REUTERS

Day 76: June 13

The House of Representatives voted 422-0 to approve a bipartisan resolution calling on Russia to immediately free Gershkovich and demanding that Moscow provide him unfettered access to U.S. consular officials during his imprisonment. The House later passed a similar resolution that Russia should free Whelan, a former U.S. Marine and businessman who was convicted of espionage in 2020. He is serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony.

Day 85: June 22

Journalist Evan Gershkovich appeared at a court hearing in Moscow on June 22. PHOTO: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

A Russian court upheld the extension of Gershkovich’s pretrial detention until at least Aug. 30. In a statement, the Journal said, “Although the outcome was expected, it is no less an outrage that his detention continues to be upheld. Evan has been wrongfully detained for more than 12 weeks for nothing more than doing his job as a journalist. We continue to demand his immediate release.”