Moscow Court Rejects Gershkovich’s Latest Appeal, Keeping Him in Jail
MOSCOW (NEWSnet/AP) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at least late June, after a Moscow court on Tuesday rejected an appeal to end his pretrial detention.
The 32-year-old U.S. citizen was detained in late March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent over a year in jail, with authorities routinely extending his time behind bars and rejecting his appeals. Last month, his pretrial detention was continued yet again — until June 30 — in a ruling that he and his lawyers later challenged.
A Moscow appellate court rejected it Tuesday.
In the courtroom on Tuesday, Gerhskovich, wearing a white T-shirt and an open checked shirt, looked relaxed, at times laughing and chatting with members of his legal team.
Authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges made after his arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich and his employer have denied the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.
In December, the U.S. State Department said it had made a significant offer to secure the release of Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, which it said Moscow had rejected.
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