A Moscow court on Tuesday rejected Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against his detention, more than a year after he became the first person to be arrested in Russia since the Cold War on espionage charges. American journalist.
The court ruled that Gershkovic, 32, must be held in a high-security prison in Moscow until at least the end of June, the Wall Street Journal and news organizations reported. Gershkovic’s detention may be extended further as a trial date has not yet been set.
Gershkovich, his employers and the U.S. government strongly deny the espionage charges against him.The White House designates Mr. Gershkovich ‘Wrongfully detained’ Their status is equivalent to that of political prisoners.
“Evan’s wrongful detention by the Russian government for more than a year remains outrageous,” the Wall Street Journal said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Evan is long overdue for freedom and we urge the government to do everything it can to secure his release,” the statement said.
Unlike many other hearings, reporters were allowed into the courtroom Tuesday. According to Reuters, Gershkovich stood in a glass box and greeted his media colleagues. The Associated Press said Gershkovich looked relaxed.
At the end of March last year, Mr. Gershkovich has been arrested Agents from Russia’s main security service, the Federal Security Service, conducted the investigation during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, Russia’s main industrial city east of Moscow.
The security services have not publicly provided any evidence to support the espionage accusations. In February, President Vladimir V. Putin claimed that Gershkovych “was receiving classified information” and “was doing it in secret.”
Mr Gershkovic’s arrest was one in a series of incidents detain U.S. nationals The process has fueled concerns over the past six years that the Kremlin is seeking to use U.S. citizens as bargaining chips in exchange for Russians imprisoned by the West.
Putin said in February that the two sides were negotiating on relevant issues. potential exchange Information provided by Mr. Gershkovich on behalf of a Russian national imprisoned abroad. In March, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei A. Ryabkov told state news agency TASS that prisoner exchange negotiations were being conducted “through specialized closed channels.”
