A Moscow court on Thursday rejected the request for the release of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, confirming the extension of his pre-trial detention until August 30 on espionage charges which he rejects.
After a closed-door hearing, a judge at the Moscow City Court decided “not to consent” to Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against his imprisonment, according to a journalist from Agence France-Presse (AFP) on the spot.
At the end of May, the reporter from wall street journal appealed against the extension of his pre-trial detention.
Before the start of the hearing on Thursday, he appeared before the press in the glass cage reserved for inmates, dressed in jeans and a black sweater.
“We were extremely disappointed with the rejection of his appeal,” US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy told reporters after the hearing.
She said three requests for consular visits to Evan Gershkovich in his prison had been denied by Russian authorities since a first visit granted in April.
“Despite everything, today in the courtroom, Evan continued to show remarkable strength and resilience in these very difficult circumstances,” said the American diplomat.
The journalist’s parents, Mikhail Gershkovich and Ella Milman, also present at the hearing, refrained from commenting to the press, as did the reporter’s lawyers.
Evan Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in Russia at the end of March while reporting from Yekaterinburg (Urals) and prosecuted for espionage.
The Kremlin says he was arrested in “flagrante delicto”, without providing evidence, the file being classified secret.
Evan Gershkovich, his employer and the American authorities categorically reject these charges punishable by 20 years in prison.
“The charges against him are baseless, he is an innocent journalist,” the US ambassador to Russia said on Thursday.
Evan Gershkovich, who previously worked for AFP in Moscow, is the first foreign journalist arrested in Russia for espionage since the fall of the Soviet Union. He is currently imprisoned in the Moscow prison of Lefortovo.