US journalist Evan Gershkovich appeals against Moscow detention, says court

US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia last week on spying claims, is appealing his detention, a Moscow court said.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia last week on spying claims, is appealing his detention, a Moscow court said.

The 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter is believed to be the first foreign journalist arrested on spying allegations since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

His arrest has drawn outrage from the West and is seen as a serious escalation of Moscow’s crackdown on media.

A spokeswoman for Moscow’s Lefortovo district court said: “The date of the hearing on his detention appeal will be announced this week.”

She said the appeal, which will be heard in a higher court, was filed by the same lawyer who represented Gershkovich during his detention hearing.

He was remanded in custody until May 29.

Gershkovich and The Wall Street Journal have denied the charges against him. Kremlin-friendly monitors who oversee conditions in jails visited Gershkovich in Lefortovo.

The journalist made “no complaint” about the conditions, Alexei Melnikov of Moscow’s Public Monitoring Commission said on Telegram.

“At the time of the visit, he was full of energy and made plenty of jokes during the conversation,” he said.

The White House said Gershkovich had yet to meet with someone from the US consulate in Moscow.

“They are trying to get consular access to Evan very, very hard, and yet we’ve still not been able to do that,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work.”

AFP