A Russian court has rejected the appeal of American journalist Evan Gershkovich to be released from pretrial detention at Moscow's Lefortovo prison as he is investigated on charges of espionage, which he denies.
Moscow's City Court on April 18 handed down its ruling as the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter looked on from a glass and metal enclosure inside the courtroom, where a delegation from the U.S. Embassy led by Ambassador Lynne Tracy along with 10 journalists were allowed to observe the proceedings.
"I can say how troubling it was to see Evan, an innocent journalist, held in these circumstances," Tracy said in a statement that also noted that the she visited Gershkovich in Lefortovo prison on April 17. She also reiterated that the charges against Gershkovich are "baseless" and again called on the Russian government to release him immediately.
The hearing was a procedural step in the Russian judicial process that examines only where and how he should wait until an investigation into the charges is complete. No evidence was brought against him during the brief court session.
"The decision by the court of the first instance to chose arrest as a pretrial restriction must be left without change, therefore the defense's appeal will not be satisfied," the court said giving no further explanation.
SEE ALSO: Russian Activist Who Gave Interview To Jailed U.S. Reporter Gershkovich DetainedRussia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on March 30 it had detained Gershkovich in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and had opened an espionage case against him for collecting what it said were state secrets about the military-industrial complex.
He was then placed in pretrial detention until at least May 29 in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, a notorious institution dating back to tsarist times. Seen as a symbol of Soviet repression, Lefortovo is where Russia holds most suspects in espionage cases.
Maria Korchagina, a member of Gershkovich's legal team, told reporters after the hearing that house arrest, a ban on certain actions, or bail had been sought by her client.
"He has the fighting spirit, he will prove there's a right to journalism, and he is holding on and thanks everyone for their words of support," Tatyana Nozhkina, another lawyer on the defense team, said, adding that Gershkovich was spending his time reading, exercising, and watching television.
SEE ALSO: Who Is Vladimir Kara-Murza, The Russian Activist Jailed For Condemning The Ukraine War?Gershkovich is the first American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War. The Wall Street Journal and the United States have denied he was involved in espionage.
"Evan is wrongfully detained and the charges of espionage against him are false. We demand his immediate release and are doing everything in our power to secure it," The Wall Street Journal said in a statement after the hearing.
The U.S. State Department on April 10 designated Gershkovich as "wrongfully detained" by Russia and called for his immediate release. U.S. President Joe Biden has also called on Russia to release him, as have international journalist organizations.
The Kremlin has said Gershkovich was carrying out espionage "under the cover" of journalism. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told the United States that Gershkovich was caught red-handed while trying to obtain secrets.
Hired by The Wall Street Journal shortly before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year, Gershkovich had been reporting on Russia for more than five years at the time of his arrest. The 31-year-old is a fluent Russian speaker, the son of emigres who left the Soviet Union for the United States during the Cold War.