Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich denied detention appeal in Moscow

CNN

By Stephanie Halasz, CNN

Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was denied an appeal to change the terms of his detention at a court hearing in Moscow on Tuesday.

The US citizen was arrested in Russia last month in a sign of the Kremlin’s crackdown on foreign media news outlets since it invaded Ukraine last year.

Gershkovich is currently being held in a pre-trial detention center at the notorious Lefortovo prison until May 29. He faces up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges. The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the spying accusations against Gershkovich.

He appeared in Moscow City Court to ask that his pre-trial detention be under house arrest rather than in jail.

He was pictured standing in a glass cage, standing with arms folded as journalists scrambled into the room. Gershkovich was smiling at times, in his glass cage, as proceedings were about to get underway.

The US Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, was photographed standing to the right of the cage with lawyers. Tracy said she spoke to Gershkovich on Monday, and he remains strong and is in good health.

“The charges against Evan are baseless, and we call on the Russian Federation to immediately release him,” she said, speaking after the court made its ruling on Tuesday.

Members of the press filmed Gershkovich and subsequently left the court room.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.

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CNN’s Rob Picheta and Tim Lister contributed reporting.