(Moscow) A Moscow court on Friday extended the pre-trial detention of Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist from Wall Street Journal arrested at the end of March 2023 in Russia for “espionage”, an accusation rejected by his defense.
“The period of detention of Evan Gershkovich […] is extended by two months […]until March 30, 2024,” the press service of the Lefortovski court said in a statement published on Telegram.
The hearing was held behind closed doors. The court broadcast a video showing the 32-year-old journalist listening to the decision read by a judge, arms crossed, in the cage reserved for detainees.
He was brought to court in a white van, then escorted on foot by a hooded man and police officers, noted an AFP photographer on site.
Report to Wall Street JournalEvan Gershkovich, who also worked for the AFP in Moscow in the past, was arrested by the Russian security services (FSB) during a report in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, in March 2023.
He is accused of espionage, a crime punishable by 20 years in prison, but he rejects these accusations, as do the United States, his newspaper, his friends and his family.
Russia has never substantiated its accusations or publicly provided evidence, and the entire procedure has been classified secret.
In recent years, several American citizens have been arrested and sentenced to heavy sentences in Russia, with Washington, which has supported Kyiv against the Russian army for two years, accusing Moscow of wanting to exchange them for Russians detained in the United States.
In mid-December, Vladimir Putin said he “hoped” for an agreement to result in the release of Evan Gershkovich and another American, Paul Whelan, a former Marine imprisoned in Russia since 2018.