The Moscow City Court did not consider a complaint to extend the arrest of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is accused of espionage (Article 276 of the Criminal Code).
Evan Gershkovich in court. Photo: Alexandra Astakhova/Mediazona
As a Mediazona correspondent reports from the court, the journalists were placed in the broadcast room. Moreover, due to the fact that the meeting was closed, they could only hear the final decision of the court. However, the broadcast from the courtroom was turned on for them after the court read out the main part of the decision.
Later, Vadim Polezhaev, an employee of the court’s press service, told reporters that the complaint was withdrawn from consideration. The same information was confirmed by US Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy. According to Polezhaev, the materials will be sent to the Lefortovo court “to eliminate the circumstances that impede the consideration of the criminal case in the appellate court.”
The Lefortovo court extended Gershkovich’s arrest at the end of August. The FSB claims that the journalist “on instructions from the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex.” Meduza wrote that the reporter traveled to Nizhny Tagil, where the tank-producing Uralvagonzavod is located. Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region Vyacheslav Wegner also said that Gershkovich asked him about the attitude of Russians to the Wagner PMC and the work of military factories.