Moscow (EFE).- The appeal trial against the arrest of The Wall Street Journal correspondent, Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia for alleged espionage, began today in the Moscow Urban Court.
The defenders of the American appealed the two months of preventive detention that the reporter was imposed on March 30 during a closed-door hearing without the presence of lawyers or the media.
Gershkovich, who is serving the precautionary measure in the Lefortovo prison, appeared with a smile on his face inside a glass chamber in the presence of numerous journalists.
The court was also attended by the United States ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, who was able to visit her fellow citizen the day before after receiving authorization from Moscow.
“We reiterate our call for their immediate release,” the ambassador said the day before.
The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zajárova, warned on Monday that those diplomats who create division in Russian society will be expelled after dozens of Western diplomats appeared at the trial against the opponent, Vladimir Kara-Murzá, who was sentenced to 25 years in jail.
The Federal Security Service (FSB, formerly KGB) formally accused the American journalist of espionage on the 7th.
The reporter’s lawyers have appealed his arrest, while dozens of independent Russian journalists have written a letter demanding his release and calling the espionage charge under article 276 of the penal code gratuitous, a charge that carries up to 20 years in jail.
Both the White House and The Wall Street Journal have denied the Russian security forces’ accusations against their correspondent and have demanded his immediate release.