Russian court rejects appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

Russian court rejects appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

A Russian court in Moscow on Tuesday rejected journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against the extension of his pre-trial detention. International media, including his employer, report this The Wall Street Journal. The American reporter was arrested in Yekaterinburg last March by the Russian security service FSB on suspicion of spying for the American government.

Gershkovich himself, his employer and Washington deny the accusations. The judge assessed Gershkovich’s appeal on Tuesday as “unsatisfactory”, and decided to leave the current term of his detention, which runs until at least November 30, “unchanged”. A date for his trial has not yet been released. In Russia, espionage carries a penalty of up to twenty years in prison.