Gershkovich’s appeal to end pretrial detention rejected

Evan Gershkovich

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at least late June after a Moscow court on Tuesday rejected his appeal that sought to end his pretrial detention.

The Associated Press reported, “The 32-year-old U.S. citizen was detained in late March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent over a year behind bars. Last month, his arrest was extended until June 30 in a ruling he and his defense lawyers later appealed. The appeal was heard by a Moscow appellate court on Tuesday and rejected.

“In the courtroom on Tuesday, Gerhskovich, clad in a white T-shirt and an open checked shirt, looked relaxed, at times laughing and chatting with members of his legal team.

“His arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg rattled journalists in Russia, where authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.