US journalist Evan Gershkovich kept in detention after his appeal

He will have to stay in jail. American journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal was rejected on Tuesday (April 18) by a Moscow court. Arrested at the end of March, the correspondent of the prestigious American daily wall street journal is accused of “espionage”, a charge deemed fanciful and politically motivated by his defenders.

This audience nevertheless allowed the press to briefly see Evan Gershkovich, a first since his arrest. Smiling, the 31-year-old journalist looked determined despite the slim chance of seeing his appeal validated. In this case, the American continues to reject the charges against him.

An extremely rare arrest

Putting an American journalist behind bars hadn’t happened in Russia for decades. This singular affair, however, takes place in a context of strong tensions between Washington and Moscow around the conflict in Ukraine.

At the end of March, the Russian security services (FSB) arrested him while he was on assignment in Yekaterinburg. The Kremlin says he was arrested in “in the act” spy. He was notably accused of having collected information on the defense industry.

Evan Gershkovich, his family, his employer and the American authorities categorically reject the charges of espionage, punishable by 20 years in prison, accusing Moscow of attacking him for his journalistic work. The start date of the US correspondent’s trial has not yet been announced.