A Russian court has extended the custody of US journalist Gershkovich by three months until the end of November. The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in March on espionage charges.
The Russian judiciary has again extended the custody of the US reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested for alleged espionage, by three months. At the request of the domestic secret service FSB, a Moscow court has now ordered detention until November 30, the Russian state news agency Tass reported.
After the arrest of the correspondent of the US newspaper “Wall Street Journal” in March, the pre-trial detention was last extended until the end of August.
The hearing in court was again closed to the public, as reported by the media in Moscow. Reason are the “secret documents” in the case. Reporters from the AFP news agency watched as the reporter was escorted into the courtroom by masked men.
Arrested in Yekaterinburg at the end of March
Gershkovich was arrested by the FSB secret service on March 29 in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals. He is accused of collecting secret information about Russia’s armaments complex for US agencies. He is the first foreign journalist to be arrested in Russia on suspicion of espionage since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The reporter, his family, his employer and the US authorities deny the allegations of espionage. Gershkovich pursued his work with official accreditation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The US is demanding his release. The Russian judiciary has not published any evidence to support their allegations.
Numerous media moved correspondents away
After the arrest, many US media withdrew their correspondents from Moscow – because of fears of political persecution by the Russian state. If convicted, the American with Russian roots faces up to 20 years in prison. The case further strained the already tense relations between Washington and Moscow.
Since his arrest, Gershkovich has been in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. The prison is notorious for keeping inmates in near-complete isolation. It is considered possible that there will be an exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Washington, as in the past. Russia has repeatedly freed criminals convicted in the USA in this way.