Evan Hershkovich managed to meet his lawyers for the first time
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The American journalist of The Wall Street Journal, Evan Hershkovich, arrested in Russia on charges of espionage, met with his lawyers for the first time on April 4.
This was reported by the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Emma Tucker in a letter sent to the publication’s employees on Tuesday.
Tucker writes that Hershkovich is doing well with his health, and he is grateful for the numerous words of support from around the world. A copy of the letter was in the possession of the Reuters agency. The text of the letter also states that Evan’s family “was relieved to learn that contact with him finally appeared.” Tucker adds that the meeting with the lawyers inspired her.
Last Thursday, a court in Moscow arrested Evan Hershkovich for two months – until May 29. Earlier, he was detained in Yekaterinburg. The Russian investigation claims that Hershkovich collected secret information on one of the enterprises of the military-industrial complex at the behest of the United States. The details of the accusation are not provided. According to the charge, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
The head of the National Security Council of the USA, John Kirby, emphasized that the American authorities are making every effort to release the correspondent of The Wall Street Journal from the moment it became known about his detention. At the same time, it was noted that employees of the US Embassy in Russia still do not have consular access to Hershkovich. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia claimed that American diplomats had access to the arrested journalist.
On Monday, the lawyer appointed by the Russian state in the case of Evan Hershkovich said that he visited him in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow.
This is the first such case with an American journalist in Russia since 1986 (then it was still about the USSR). The Wall Street Journal and the US leadership categorically reject the charges and declare the journalist’s innocence, calling for his immediate release.
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