U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage prices, stands inside a defendants’ cage earlier than a listening to to think about an attraction on his arrest on the Moscow City Court on Tuesday.

Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP by way of Getty Images

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Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP by way of Getty Images

U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage prices, stands inside a defendants’ cage earlier than a listening to to think about an attraction on his arrest on the Moscow City Court on Tuesday.

Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP by way of Getty Images

MOSCOW — A Moscow courtroom rejected an attraction in opposition to the continued detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was apprehended on Mar. 29 on prices of espionage.

The listening to marked the primary time the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter had been seen in public since he was detained by Russian safety brokers whereas on a reporting journey within the Ural mountain metropolis of Yekaterinburg.

Journalists had been allowed briefly into the courtroom room, the place Gershkovich was could possibly be seen inside a glass cage wearing a plaid blue shirt and denims chatting together with his attorneys.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy was additionally current for parts of the closed listening to. Following the ruling, Tracy repeated U.S. authorities requires Gershkovich’s speedy launch

“I can only say how troubling it was to see Evan, an innocent journalist, held in these circumstances,” mentioned Tracy, who famous she had solely been granted consular entry to the American journalist yesterday after two weeks of making an attempt.

“I can report that he is in good health and remains strong despite his circumstances,” Tracy mentioned.

Gershkovich’s attorneys mentioned he would attraction the courtroom’s discovering — however indicated the subsequent listening to would come no ahead of late May.

For now, Gershkovich stays in a cell at Moscow’s Lefortovo jail, the place he is been busy studying books like Leo Tolstoy’s basic War and Peace, watching cooking exhibits, and answering letters from well-wishers from across the globe.

The U.S. State Department has labelled Gershkovich “wrongfully detained” — a designation that gives the federal government extra leeway in negotiating the journalist’s launch.

“Journalism is not a crime,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel mentioned in a statement final week. “We call for the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr. Gershkovich.”

Yet Russian officers insist Gershkovich was caught “red-handed” and instructed a possible prisoner swap may come as soon as the authorized system had run its course.