Justice
Moscow extends pre-trial detention for US reporter Gershkovich
Evan Gershkovich is escorted out of Lefortowsky Court. photo
© Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Moscow accuses US journalist Evan Gershkovich of espionage. At a secret trial it was now decided that he must remain behind bars for the time being.
A court in Moscow has ordered the pre-trial detention of the Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, extended for another two months. The American will remain behind bars until March 30, the Interfax news agency reported, citing a press release from the court.
The negotiation itself took place behind closed doors because the contents of the process are classified as secret. Moscow accuses Gershkovich of espionage.
Gershkovich, Russia correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in Yekaterinburg at the end of March 2023 while on a reporting trip. The public prosecutor’s office accuses him of having collected state secrets about the activities of a Russian defense company “at the direction of the American side.” Gershkovich and his employer, the Wall Street Journal, deny that he carried out espionage there. The U.S. government said Gershkovich was being held unjustly.
In December, the White House announced that Moscow had rejected an offer from Washington to release the journalist and another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan. Details of the offer were not disclosed.