Evan Gershkovich: US reporter to stay in detention in Russia

A court in Moscow rejected Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's appeal against his extended pre-trial detention, following a short hearing held behind closed doors on Thursday. 

"The court considered the complaint brought by Gershkovich's defense against the decision to extend his ... detention, and ruled that the initial decision should be left unchanged and the complaint of the defendant's defense should not be satisfied," the judge said.

The 32-year-old wore a black t-shirt and blue jeans and waved to journalists during a brief period before the hearing when cameras were allowed in the room. 

Late in May, authorities extended Gershkovich's pre-trial detention period until August pending a trial whose date has not yet been set. 

Gershkovich is accused of espionage by Russia, which could lead to a prison sentence of up to 20 years if he is convicted. 

Moscow says the sensitivity of the espionage charges means the trial must be held in private and court documents are not being made public. 

Gershkovich is in the Moscow pre-trial detention center, the Lefortovo Prison.

"The important thing to understand is that Lefortovo serves as a pre-trial detention center, but still, prisoners can spend years there. For example, Paul Whelan, the former US marine, was in this prison for two years before he was convicted on charges of espionage," Maria Kiseleva, a journalist currently based in Riga, told DW on Thursday.

US ambassador 'extremely disappointed' 

Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the US government have all called the allegations unfounded and contest that Gershkovich was simply working as an accredited correspondent. 

"We were extremely disappointed by the denial of his appeal," the US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, said outside Moscow City Court. "Despite Russian officials' public assertions about Evan's activities, let me reiterate the US government's firm position: the charges against him are baseless." 

Like the reporters she was addressing, Tracy was not allowed inside the hearing.

A Wall Street Journal representative had told the BBC before the hearing that the paper did not hold out much hope for the appeal but considered it important to go through the available legal motions all the same. 

Gershkovich became the first foreign journalist arrested in Russia on spying charges since the collapse of the Soviet Union when Russia first arrested him in late March.

He is the child of two parents who left the Soviet Union for the United States during the Cold War.

The US imposed additional sanctions on Russia's FSB secret services soon after, saying the organization was holding US citizens "hostage." 

msh/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)