US envoy to Russia meets jailed journalist Gershkovich

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March while on a reporting trip and accused of espionage, stands behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants before a court hearing to consider an appeal against his detention, in Moscow, Russia June 22, 2023. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File photo

(Reuters) -American ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy was granted access on Monday to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the U.S. State Department said, in the second such visit since his pre-trial detention in March on espionage charges he denies.

Tracy met with Gershkovich at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow in what was the first time U.S. Embassy officials were granted consular access since April 17, a State Department spokesperson.