Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, imprisoned in Russia for more than a year on dubious spying charges, has lost another appeal to end his pretrial detention and will remain behind bars until at least June.
A Russian court last month extended the detention of the 32-year-old journalist, who was arrested last March in Yekaterinburg on espionage allegations, until June 30. The U.S. government and Wall Street Journal have called the charges absurd, and the State Department designated him as wrongfully detained. He’s the first American reporter arrested in Russia on such allegations since 1986, and his ordeal has captured international attention.
Gershkovich has often been observed appearing relaxed and even amused during court proceedings, and that was no different on Tuesday. He could be seen smiling and even laughing while talking to attorneys from inside his glass box, and one BBC reporter noted he gave a “thumbs-up” when asked how he was doing.
His friends and familyhave also reported he remains upbeat in …