A Moscow court on Tuesday upheld the pretrial detention of US journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia on March 30 on espionage charges.
Gershkovich, who is being held in Lefortovo prison in Moscow, had filed an appeal asking to be released pending the start of the trial. However, the court rejected the request and decided that Gershkovich will have to remain in prison at least until May 29 (but the period of pre-trial detention could be further extended in the coming weeks).
Gershkovich had been arrested by Russian intelligence in Yekaterinburg in central Russia while he was working on an article for his newspaper, the Wall Street Journal. Russian authorities had groundlessly accused him of spying for the United States, a crime for which under Russian law he faces up to 20 years in prison.
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