Russian court rules WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich will remain in custody

The Moscow City Court has denied the arrest appeal motion filed by the defence team of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich who was previously detained on charges of espionage, Mediazona reports from the courtroom.

The media outlet notes that US envoy to Russia Lynne Tracy was at the hearing with her Embassy colleagues as well as around 30-40 journalists.

Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg on 29 March. Media reports suggest that he was surveying Russians about their attitudes towards the Wagner Group and travelled to the city of Nizhny Tagil where a defence-industry factory Uralvagonzavod is located. He was sent to a Moscow detention centre the next day.

Bloomberg previously reported that Vladimir Putin personally gave the FSB the green light to take the reporter in custody. At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the report that Putinw as involved in the arrest, noting that “it is the security services’ job”.

Earlier, the US State Department officially designated Gershkovich as “unlawfully detained” in a move that paves the way for a prisoner swap. Moreover, US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have already urged the Kremlin to release the journalist.