Evan Gershkovich was finally allowed a visit from the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, on Monday. It was the first access provided to U.S. officials since his detention last month.

Tracy tweeted, “He is in good health and remains strong. We reiterate our call for his immediate release.” She was able to visit him in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the day the court is scheduled to hear an appeal on his detention. This comes almost three weeks after his arrest for espionage. The Wall Street Journal, his employer, and the Biden administration deny that Evan is a spy.

The visit to Mr. Gershkovich at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison comes the day before a court in the Russian capital is scheduled to hear an appeal on his detention, nearly three weeks after the journalist was arrested for espionage, an allegation the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. There are three outcomes that could happen tomorrow – the Moscow City Court could “uphold Mr. Gershkovich’s continued pretrial detention in Lefortovo, order him moved to another jail, allow him house arrest or grant him bail.” He is in pretrial detention until May 29. That period can be extended by Russian authorities.

Evan has been declared “wrongfully detained” by the State Department. That opens up additional resources for them to negotiate his release on his behalf. The press bureau of Russia’s federal Penitentiary Service reported to the state news agency TASS that Evan “didn’t complain about his health or the conditions in the pretrial detention center”to the ambassador.

At the United Nations, the United States helped distribute a written statement that criticizes Russia over Evan’s detention and protests Russia’s moves to intimidate the media. More than 40 countries have signed on to the statement.

The statement, which the U.S. helped circulate at the United Nations, calls on Moscow to “release those they hold on political grounds, and to end the draconian crackdown on freedom of expression, including against members of the media.”

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the countries that signed the statement are “calling on Russia to immediately release Evan Gershkovich.”

“Let this statement send a clear message: Journalism is not a crime,” she told the Journal before the statement was released Monday.

U.N. officials linked the statement, expected to be announced Monday, to the 30th World Press Freedom Day celebration on May 3. Allowing journalists to do their job is part of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Russia has signed on to, they said.

For clarity, Putin doesn’t give a rip about a statement from the United Nations signed by forty or so countries. Putin is in his universe.

Also on Monday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola opened the legislature’s latest plenary session in Strasbourg, France by urging the release of Evan. She said his detention is a “line that should not have been crossed.” Yeah, that’s nice but it isn’t anything that is going to sway Putin to shape up and fly right. It should be noted that European countries or highly industrialized U.S. allies including Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, and South Korea signed the statement at the U.N.

We can hope that Evan is released soon, though I think that his being released Tuesday at the appeal of his detention in court is likely too much to hope for.