The arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges has been extended until November 30, Russian state news agency Tass said.
Gershkovich arrived at the Moscow court Thursday in a white prison van and was led away in handcuffs, dressed in jeans, sneakers and a shirt.
Journalists outside the court were not allowed to witness the proceedings. Tass said they were being held behind closed doors because the details of the criminal case are classified.
The prosecution had asked to extend his arrest from August 30.
Evan Gershkovich (right) is escorted out of the Lefortovsky Court in Moscow on August 24, 2023.AFP via Getty Images
He has appealed against the extensions of his detention.
Gershkovich, a 31-year-old US citizen, was arrested in Yekaterinburg during a reporting trip in late March. The Russian Federal Security Service said that Gershkovich, “on instructions from the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the companies of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Gershkovich and his employer deny the accusations, and the US government has stated that he was wrongfully detained. Gershkovich’s case has been kept secret. Russian authorities have not detailed what evidence (if any) they have gathered to support the espionage charges.
Evan Gershkovich was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg during a journalistic trip to Russia. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
In early August, US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy paid her third visit to Gershkovich, reporting that he appeared to be in good health despite difficult circumstances. Gershkovich was being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, known for his harsh conditions.
Gershkovich is the first American reporter to face espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, the Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.
Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips in rising tensions between the United States and Russia over the Kremlin’s military operation in Ukraine. At least two American citizens arrested in Russia in recent years, including WNBA star Brittney Griner, have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the United States.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn