Judge upholds Evan Gershkovich detention as WSJ reporter seen for first time since arrest on espionage charges

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made his first public appearance in Russia after being arrested nearly three weeks ago on espionage charges as a judge upheld his pretrial detention at a Tuesday hearing, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Gershkovich, who has denied the charges against him, was in Moscow City Court for the hearing. The judge could have moved Gershkovich to another jail, permitted house arrest, or granted him bail, but ultimately decided on keeping him in custody until May 29.

U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy and Gershkovich’s lawyers, Tatyana Nozhkina and Maria Korchagina, were in the courtroom during the hearing, the newspaper says. 

Gershkovich, who has been in custody since March 29, appeared at the hearing Tuesday in a see-through detention box, wearing jeans and a blue-checkered shirt.

Russia's Federal Security Service has charged Gershkovich with espionage, accusing him of collecting "information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise within Russia’s military-industrial complex," according to state media outlet Tass.