UN human rights experts say Russia violated international law by imprisoning Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and should release him “immediately.” The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, made up of independent experts convened by the UN’s top human rights body, said there was a “striking lack of any factual or legal substantiation” for the spying charges leveled against Gershkovich. The five-member group said Gershkovich's U.S. nationality was a factor in his detention and as a result the case against him was “discriminatory.” Gershkovich went on trial behind closed doors on June 26 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on espionage charges that he, his employer, and the U.S. government vehemently deny.
UN Experts Say Russia Violated International Law By Imprisoning U.S. Reporter Gershkovich
U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich looks out from inside a glass defendants' cage prior to a hearing at a Russian court in Yekaterinburg on June 26.