Defense Appeals Pre-Trial Detention Of WSJ Reporter Gershkovich In Russia - Moscow Court

His defense has appealed the court order on the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, suspected of espionage by Russian security services, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow told Sputnik on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd April, 2023) His defense has appealed the court order on the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, suspected of espionage by Russian security services, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow told Sputnik on Monday.

"The court has received a complaint on the measure of restraint in respect of Gershkovich," a representative of the court said.

On March 30, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Gershkovich, a WSJ Moscow Bureau correspondent, in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage in favor of the United States. According to the FSB, the journalist was collecting classified information about the activities of one of Russia's military-industrial complex firms.

Later that day, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow decided to place Gershkovich in pre-trial detention for two months until May 29.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the reporter had been caught red-handed, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Gershkovich's activities in Yekaterinburg had nothing to do with journalism.

The WSJ has denounced any charges against Gershkovich and demanded his immediate release. EU High Representative Josep Borrel, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and US President Joe Biden, among many other Western leaders, have condemned the journalist's arrest.