Moscow court rejects Evan Gershkovich's appeal, keeping him in jail until at least June 30
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at least late June, after a Moscow court on Tuesday rejected his appeal that sought 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 behind bars. Last month, his arrest was extended until June 30 in a ruling he and his defense lawyers later appealed. The appeal was heard by a Moscow appellate court on Tuesday and rejected.
His arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg rattled journalists in Russia, where authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges.
Gershkovich and his employer have denied the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.
Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips in soaring U.S.-Russian tensions over the Kremlin바카라 게임 웹사이트s military operation in Ukraine. At least two U.S. citizens arrested in Russia in recent years 바카라 게임 웹사이트 including WNBA star Brittney Griner 바카라 게임 웹사이트 have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the U.S.
Video below: White House says in March it's working to get Evan Gershkovich home from Russia
Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. 온라인 바카라 게임 and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.
Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union바카라 게임 웹사이트s U.N. mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges.