The Lefortovo Court in Moscow arrested until May 29 the journalist of The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Yekaterinburg on a case of espionage, TASS reports .
Lawyer Daniil Berman, who has a warrant to protect the journalist, was not allowed to attend the court session, saying that Gershkovich already has a lawyer by appointment, Mediazona reports .
Evan Gershkovich was detained on March 29 on suspicion of espionage, TASS reported on the morning of March 30, citing the FSB. According to Russian agencies, the WSJ journalist, on instructions from the United States, was collecting information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.
Prior to his arrest, Gershkovich was in Yekaterinburg and was preparing material on the attitude of Russians towards the Wagner PMC.
“The Wall Street Journal categorically denies the FSB allegations and demands the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter Evan Gershkovich. We are in solidarity with Evan and his family, ”the publication said in a statement.
Gershkovich is 31 years old and has been working as a correspondent in Russia since 2017. Prior to joining the WSJ, he worked for Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times. Formerly a news assistant at the New York Times in New York. The Bowdoin College alumnus recently wrote about the impact of Western sanctions on the Russian economy.
Lawyer Ivan Pavlov commented on Gershkovich's arrest in an interview with The insider. According to him, the authorities show in such a way that absolutely any journalist, both Russian and foreign, can fall under the article on espionage, and also that the authorities hope to exchange a “hostage” journalist for some Russian citizen detained on such a charge. .
On charges of espionage, Evan Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison.