The US Ambassador to Russia visited journalist Gershkovich, accused of espionage, in a pre-trial detention center
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US Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy visited the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on charges of espionage, in jail. Information about this “RIA Novosti” confirmed at the US Embassy.
“Yes, we can confirm that the ambassador visited him today,” the agency quoted the US embassy as saying.
Earlier, the WSJ newspaper reported that in Russia the ambassador was granted consular access to the journalist in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow.
Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg on March 30. According to the FSB, the journalist collected secret information “about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.” The Kremlin said that he was “caught red-handed.”
The WSJ denied the FSB accusations, specifying that the journalist works in a Moscow bureau and covers events in Russia.
The FSB charged the journalist with espionage (Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) on 7 April. The maximum punishment under this article provides for imprisonment for up to 20 years. On April 18, the Moscow City Court recognized Gershkovich’s arrest as legal. Lawyers during the trial asked the court to release the WSJ journalist on bail in the amount of 50 million rubles. The Dow Jones Company offered to make this deposit for him. Tracy dismissed the allegations of espionage against Gershkovich as “baseless” and called on the Russian authorities to release him. According to the journalist’s lawyer, he does not admit guilt.
On June 22, the Moscow City Court dismissed the appeal against the extension of the journalist’s arrest. For the first time, the parents of the journalist and representatives of the diplomatic mission were allowed to attend a closed meeting.
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