Family of reporter detained in Russia asks United Nations for help

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

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The family of U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich said on Wednesday that they had appealed to the United Nations for help in their bid to get him freed in Russia, where he was detained in March on spying charges that carry up to 20 years in prison.

Standing with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, outside the U.N. Security Council, Gershkovich's parents and sister said they had submitted a petition to the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Dentention