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Evan Gershkovich: US journalist arrested in Russia appears in court

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A US journalist named Evan Gershkovich, who was working for the Wall Street Journal, has had his appeal against pre-trial detention rejected by a court in Russia. Mr. Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg and charged with spying.

He appeared in court in Moscow for the first time, standing in a bullet-proof glass enclosure wearing jeans and a blue checked shirt, and gave a brief smile but did not address the reporters present. His lawyer and the US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, were also in attendance. This was the first public sighting of Mr. Gershkovich since his arrest.

The same court in Russia that convicted and sentenced Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza for treason on Monday rejected the appeal of US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained on charges of spying while working for the Wall Street Journal.

Media was allowed to attend the hearing before being asked to leave and return later. The US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, who was present at the hearing, said that she had met Mr. Gershkovich for the first time on Monday and that he was in good health and strong despite the circumstances. Ms. Tracy called for Mr. Gershkovich’s immediate release, describing the charges against him as baseless.

More than 40 countries, led by the US, issued a joint statement at the UN on Monday demanding Mr. Gershkovich’s release and condemning Moscow’s treatment of the media. Mr. Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of espionage.

According to Russian authorities, Evan Gershkovich was attempting to obtain classified defence information for the US government, a charge that he denies. His arrest is the first time since the Soviet era that Moscow has accused a US journalist of espionage.

Gershkovich was reportedly covering the Russian mercenary group Wagner in Yekaterinburg when he was detained. The Wall Street Journal has been providing legal support to Gershkovich, and US officials, including President Joe Biden and bipartisan senators, have condemned his detention.

His case is now being handled by the US special envoy for hostage affairs. The James Foley Legacy Foundation reported in 2022 that at least 65 Americans were being unfairly detained abroad.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

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Brent Renaud, a journalist and filmmaker from the United States, killed in Ukraine

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According to police, a US journalist working in Ukraine was shot and killed in the town of Irpin, just outside of Kyiv.

Brent Renaud, 50, had previously worked for the New York Times as a journalist and filmmaker. Andriy Nebytov, the police chief of Kyiv, said he had been targeted by Russian soldiers. Two more journalists were hurt and had to go to the hospital. It’s the first time a foreign journalist covering the conflict in Ukraine has been killed.

Juan Arredondo, one of the injured journalists, told an Italian reporter that he was with Brent Renaud when they were shot at. Renaud’s press ID was issued by the New York Times, according to photos circulating online. The newspaper said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” to learn of Renaud’s death, but that he had not been working for it in Ukraine.

According to the Times, Renaud last worked for the publication in 2015, and the press ID he was wearing in Ukraine was issued years ago. NBC News expressed its condolences to Renaud’s family and praised his “significant contributions” to NBC News reports, despite the fact that he was not working for them in Ukraine.

Renaud had reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Haiti for a number of US news organisations. He won a Peabody Award for his work on the Last Chance High series about Chicago schools, which aired in 2014.

He was based in New York and Little Rock, Arkansas, and frequently collaborated with his brother, Craig, who was also a filmmaker. It’s unclear whether Craig had also visited Ukraine.

“Tell America, tell the world, what they did to a journalist,” a Ukrainian police officer told PBS news journalist Jane Ferguson.

Picture Courtesy: Google/Images are subject to copyright