Russian court upholds detention of WSJ’s Gershkovich

Evan Gershkovich

A Moscow court on Tuesday upheld the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been accused of spying, reports Ann Simmons of The Journal.

Simmons reports, “After a closed hearing, Mr. Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American citizen, was denied bail and ordered held in the Russian capital’s Lefortovo prison pending trial. Lefortovo has often been used to house prominent political prisoners.

“The U.S. government has designated Mr. Gershkovich as wrongfully detained and called for his immediate release. The American ambassador, Lynne Tracy, who was allowed consular access to Mr. Gershkovich for the first time Monday, attended the hearing.

“‘The charges are baseless and we call on the Russian federation to immediately release’ Mr. Gershkovich, Ms. Tracy told reporters on the courthouse steps after the hearing. She also called for the release of Paul Whelan, another American being held by Russia.”

Read more here.

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.