After denying bail, a Moscow judge said Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich must remain at the infamous Leftorvo prison until at least May 29.
Gershkovich’s lawyers had appealed for house arrest or his release on a bail of about $600,000 as the reporter faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted at trial.
Although his appeal was denied, Gershkovich was in good spirits at Moscow City Court, where he appeared behind a glass cage and smiled at other journalists.
The Journal has rejected the charges against Gershkovich and repeatedly called for his release.
The newspaper’s editor-in-chief Emma Tucker and publisher Almar Latour said they expected the judge to deny the appeal for a pretrial detention but it was “nonetheless disappointing.”
“Evan is wrongfully detained and the charges of espionage against him are false,” they said in a statement. “We demand his immediate release and are doing everything in our power to secure it.”
Gershkovich, 31, is an accredited journalist in Russia who worked in the country for years.
He was arrested late last month in the city of Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage, becoming the first U.S. reporter arrested in the country since the Cold War.
The Biden administration has deemed Gershkovich wrongfully detained and rejected the charges against him.
On Monday, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, met with Gershkovich and said he was in good health. President Biden has also recently talked to the reporter’s family.
The arrest of Gershkovich marked the latest escalation of deep tensions between the U.S. and Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
During the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on dissent, with a Russian court this week ordering activist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison.
We have more coverage of the war in Ukraine at TheHill.com.
