Wall Street Journal reporter held on spying charges denied release on bail

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court Tuesday. He is the first U.S. correspondent detained on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War. (Associated Press)

A Russian judge ruled Tuesday that American journalist Evan Gershkovich must remain behind bars on espionage charges in a case that is part of a crackdown the Kremlin has intensified on dissent and press freedom since invading Ukraine.

Appearing in public for the first time in weeks, the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter stood in a defendant’s glass cage in Moscow City Court, wearing blue jeans and a navy blue gingham checked shirt. He paced at times with his arms folded, talking through an opening with his lawyers and occasionally smiling as he acknowledged the other journalists crammed into the courtroom for photos before the hearing was closed because Russian authorities have declared the case secret.