MOSCOW—Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appeared Tuesday in Moscow City Court, seeking release from jail on espionage charges, but it declined to hear his appeal and returned the case to a lower court to deal with unspecified procedural violations.
The decision means Mr. Gershkovich, 31, will remain jailed at least until Nov. 30, unless his appeal is heard in the meantime and he is released—an unlikely outcome.
