A Moscow court on Friday extended the pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until the end of March, meaning the journalist will spend at least a year behind bars in Russia.
U.S. Consul General Stuart Wilson attended the hearing at Lefortovo District Court, which was held behind closed doors because authorities say the details of the criminal case against the American journalist are classified.
In a video shared by state news agency Ria Novosti, Gershkovich is shown listening to the ruling, standing in a court cage wearing a hoodie and light blue jeans.
Shortly afterwards he was photographed walking towards a prison van to leave the court.
Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,200 miles east of Moscow.
Russia’s Federal Security Service alleged that the journalist, “on instructions from the American side, collected information that constituted a state secret about the activities of one of the companies of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted into a prison van after leaving the Russian court in Moscow on Jan. 26, 2024. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich attends a court hearing of Moscow on whether his preventive detention would be extended, on January 26, 2024. January 26, 2024. AP
Gershkovich and the Journal deny the allegations, and the U.S. government has said he is being wrongfully detained. Russian authorities have not detailed any evidence to support the espionage charges.
During his year-end news conference in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is in dialogue with the United States to bring home both Gershkovich and imprisoned American Paul Whelan, and that the Kremlin hopes to “find a solution.” even though “it’s not easy.”
Putin was responding to a question about an offer the Biden administration made to secure the release of the two men.
Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,200 miles east of Moscow. AFP via Getty Images Gershkovich and the Journal deny the allegations, and the US government has declared that he is being unfairly detained. Russian authorities have not detailed any evidence to support the espionage charges. AP
The US State Department reported it in December, without providing details, and said Russia rejected it.
“We have contacts on this issue with our American partners, there is a dialogue on this issue. It’s not easy, I won’t go into details now. But in general it seems to me that we speak a language that we all understand,” Putin said.
“I hope we find a solution,” he continued. “But, I repeat, the American side must listen to us and make a decision that satisfies the Russian side as well.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it will consider a swap for Gershkovich only after a verdict in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last more than a year.
Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be charged with espionage in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Gershkovich is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, known for its harsh conditions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it will consider a swap for Gershkovich only after a verdict in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last more than a year. AP
Analysts have said Moscow could be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips after tensions between the United States and Russia soared when Russia sent troops to Ukraine.
At least two American citizens arrested in Russia in recent years, including WNBA star Brittney Griner, have been exchanged for Russians imprisoned in the United States.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn