Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appeared in a Russian court today. His detention was extended until at least Jan. 30, 2024. It is his third detention.

By that time, Evan will have been held for 10 months. He is a reporter in the Moscow bureau of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). He was detained in March on an allegation of espionage. The WSJ, the Biden administration, and Evan deny that he is a spy. He is the first American reporter to be charged with espionage since the end of the Cold War.

Evan’s story is a little different than those of other Americans being detained in Russia. Other Americans have been charged with acts other than espionage, except Paul Whelan. Whelan, a former Marine from Michigan, was in the Moscow area for a wedding when he was arrested. In June 2020,Whelan was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison for espionage by a court in Moscow.

Gershkovich spent his 32nd birthday in detention. It looks like he was targeted because he is a journalist. He was accredited to work as a journalist in Russia by Russia’s Foreign Ministry. He was detained by FSB agents on March 29 during a reporting trip. Russian authorities have not presented any evidence to back up their charge of espionage. He is being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. They waited until he was out of Moscow before grabbing him and accusing him of being a spy, though no one has evidence of that crime.

Another American citizen has been detained while visiting Russia for a family emergency. Alsu Kurmasheva is a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). She is a dual citizen of the United States and Russia. She lives in Prague. She was arrested as she tried to return home. She is charged with failure to register as a foreign agent. Her employer claims that the media company has complied with Russian law. Her detention was extended. Her request to end her detention has been denied. It looks like she is caught in a kerfuffle between her employer and the Russian government.

Putin seems to be grabbing journalists with American citizenships. Both of these journalists were detained after Putin’s invasion into Ukraine. The United States and NATO allies have been steadfast in support of Ukraine. Putin may be using journalists, in addition to other Americans, as leverage as the war in Ukraine continues.

The WSJ stands with Evan. The news outlet has been very good about keeping his story alive. Journalists across the spectrum have rallied for Evan and called for his release. His employer released a statement today after his court appearance.

“Evan has now been unjustly imprisoned for nearly 250 days, and every day is a day too long,” the Journal said in a statement. “The accusations against him are categorically false and his continued imprisonment is a brazen and outrageous attack on a free press, which is critical for a free society.”

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow also criticized the court’s ruling.

“Today, U.S. Embassy representatives attended the hearing of wrongfully detained WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich at the Lefortovo Court. We are deeply concerned by the court’s decision to extend his detention for an additional two months,” it said on its Telegram messaging service channel. “Evan has already been in pretrial detention without legal grounds for almost eight months. We reiterate our call for Evan’s immediate release.”

It’s not a good sign that Putin is detaining journalists who are American citizens. Both of Evan’s parents are immigrants from Russia. He speaks fluent Russian. Alsu Kurmasheva is a duel American and Russian citizen living in Prague. The Kremlin and the Biden administration state that they are willing to do a prisoner swap but the details have not been released. There is likely little hope that anything will happen until Evan’s trial, which isn’t yet scheduled, and his verdict rendered. Espionage trials are held in secret. There is little doubt what the verdict will be.

His case stays with me because he was authorized to do his job in Russia and was doing it when he was arrested. He was arrested for doing his job. Mad Vlad is mired in a war he began in Ukraine. Will he gamble on concessions from the inept Biden administration in a prisoner swap? It has worked for him so far.