It was expected. Evan Gershkovich appeared in a Moscow court today to appeal his pretrial detention. His appeal was rejected. He was denied bail. He is charged with espionage, a charge that his employer, The Wall Street Journal, and the U.S. government deny.

What makes Evan’s case different from other stories about Americans being detained in Russia is that Evan Gershovich is an American reporter based in Moscow working for The Wall Street Journal. He was in Yekaterinburg doing his job and he was arrested as he had dinner in a steakhouse on March 29. He faces up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted on espionage charges.

What are the chances that an American will be found not guilty in a Russian court? Especially at a time when the United States is the largest financial supporter of Ukraine in its war against Putin’s invasion. Plus, the United States sends a large amount of military equipment to help Ukrainian forces battle Russian forces. Putin is sending a message that he is not fazed by any bloviating by Joe Biden. Putin, like the rest of the world, saw what happened when Biden withdrew the United States military from Afghanistan. No world leader is afraid of Joe Biden. He is a laughingstock on the world stage. Putin is emboldened.

It was good to see Evan on camera for the first time since he was taken out of that steakhouse. The last we saw of him was when Russian officials led him outside the restaurant into an awaiting car. Today he was seen held in a cage in the courtroom, wearing a clean shirt, and jeans, and appeared to be in good health. He paced back and forth a little in the cage before the hearing and stood with his arms crossed. At one point he did an exaggerated blink. Maybe it was a signal to his parents. Or just a quirk? At least his parents can see he’s alive and looks ok so far.

Last week Evan was declared “wrongfully detained.” This allows State Department to lead efforts to secure his release. It was only yesterday that Evan was finally granted a visit from the U.S. Ambassador to Russia. She released a statement outside the courthouse today after the hearing.

“I can only say how troubling it was to see Evan, an innocent journalist, held in these circumstances,” U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, who was permitted to visit Gershkovich in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison for the first time on Monday, told journalists outside the Moscow courthouse after Tuesday’s ruling. “We will continue to provide all available support to Evan and his family, and we expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access to Evan. The charges against Evan are baseless, and we call on the Russian federation to immediately release him.”

His lawyers said his next hearing will likely be at the end of May. They told journalists that he is in good spirits and grateful for the support he is receiving.

Biden spoke to his parents last week. He said, “We’re making it real clear that it’s totally illegal what’s happening, and we declared it so.” Does Putin care if his actions are illegal or not? Please. He’s laughing at Biden and his feckless bluster.

After the closed hearing and the denial of bail, Evan was ordered to be held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison until his trial. The prison is often used to house prominent political prisoners.

Putin is waiting to make a prisoner swap in exchange for a Russian spy or two. That shouldn’t happen. Biden’s continued use of prisoner swaps only leads to more snatchings of American citizens in Russia and other places overseas. Evan was snatched after Brittney Griner was released in a prisoner swap for a notoriously dangerous weapons dealer. And, Putin escalated by grabbing a journalist for the first time since the end of the Cold War. What a mess.