Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist, had his pre-trial detention extended by a Russian court on Thursday, according to Interfax. Gershkovich is facing charges of espionage, which he vehemently denies.
The Moscow court extended Gershkovich’s detention from August 30 to November 30. Gershkovich was present at the hearing.
Gershkovich was arrested on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals, on spying charges that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich’s employer, has strongly denied the espionage charges. The United States has accused Russia of engaging in “hostage diplomacy,” worsening bilateral relations further due to Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
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The FSB security service claims that Gershkovich was gathering classified information about a Russian defense company. However, the Kremlin has not provided any evidence to support this claim.
The White House has dismissed the charges as “ridiculous,” with President Joe Biden declaring Gershkovich’s detention as “totally illegal.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 22, 2023. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained on espionage charges in Russia, appeared in court Thursday to appeal his extended detention.
Dmitry Serebryakov/AP
No trial date has been set yet. Gershkovich has previously appealed his pre-trial detention in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which was known for holding suspects accused by the KGB during Soviet times.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy has only been allowed to visit Gershkovich in prison three times, with the most recent visit taking place on August 14, nearly five months after his arrest.
Russia has stated that any prisoner exchange can only be considered after a court verdict, and it must go through a special channel handled by the security services.
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Russia has previously agreed to high-profile swaps, including one in December 2022 when it exchanged U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who was convicted of a drug offense in Russia, for Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout.
The United States has pledged to do everything possible to secure the release of Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage in 2020 and is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian penal colony. Both men deny the charges, and the United States considers their detention to be wrongful and politically motivated.
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