A Russian court has extended Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention by three months after he was accused of espionage.
The 31-year-old was arrested on March 29 in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg and charged with espionage, which faces a possible 20-year prison sentence.
The Federal Security Service (FSB), successor to the Soviet-era KGB, accused him of collecting state secrets about the military-industrial complex while reporting in the country.
Gershkovich, who grew up in New Jersey, is being held in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison while awaiting trial.
On Tuesday, a hearing was held before a judge at the Lefortovo District Court, who granted a motion to extend Gershkovich’s detention until at least August 30.
Pictured during a hearing April 18, a Russian court extended Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention by three months after he was accused of espionage during a reporting trip
Gershkovich was arrested March 29 in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg and charged with espionage, which carries a possible 20-year prison sentence
Gershkovich’s parents, Ella and Mikhail Gershkovich, waited an hour outside the courtroom before being let in and caught their first glimpse of him since his arrest.
They were taken away with one of his lawyers after the hearing, but did not comment on what they saw.
“We hope he’s doing well and that he can be as strong as his mother,” Gershkovich’s father said before the hearing, while his mother wore a “Free Evan” pin.
Before his arrest, Gershkovich was reportedly working on a story about the Wagner Group, Russia’s notorious mercenary force. The FSB accused him of trying to get secret information about a Russian arms factory.
The reporter and the Wall Street Journal both deny the spying allegations, which President Joe Biden called illegal, and the United States has officially ruled him “wrongfully detained.”
But the Kremlin said Gershkovich, the first US journalist to be jailed in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, was “caught in the act”.
The FSB confirmed that Gershkovich was working with a press accreditation issued by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Gershkovich used his journalistic qualifications as a cover for “activities unrelated to journalism”.
Gershkovich lived in Moscow since 2017 and worked in the Moscow office of the journal, where he covered the war in Ukraine.
A hearing was held before a judge at the Lefortovo District Court in Moscow, who granted a request to extend Gershkovich’s detention until at least August 30
Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal both deny the spying allegations, which President Joe Biden called illegal, and the United States has officially ruled him “wrongly imprisoned.”
Pictured: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted to a bus by officers at the Lefortovsky Court in Moscow, Russia on Thursday, March 30, 2023
He was held in Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison, which dates back to Tsarist times and has been a horrifying symbol of oppression since Soviet times.
Russian lawyers said previous investigations into espionage cases had lasted between a year and 18 months, during which he had little contact with the outside world.
He appeared in court on April 18 when a Moscow judge confirmed his detention.
His legal team had proposed that he be released on bail of 50 million rubles ($614,000) or placed under house arrest, but both proposals were rejected.
Gershkovich stood in the courtroom in a glass and metal case, wearing a plaid shirt and with his arms folded in front of him. He said nothing during the hearing.
Before it began, Gershkovich turned around when one of the Russian reporters in the courtroom told him, “Stay strong!” and informed him that everyone said hello.
Gershkovich was being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which dates back to Tsarist times and has been a terrible symbol of oppression since Soviet times
Gershkovich was reportedly working on a story about private military company Wagner prior to his arrest
Lynne Marie Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, was also present in the courtroom last month.
At the time, she said she had visited Gershkovich in prison and described him as “in good health and continuing to be strong.”
A prisoner swap, similar to the one that secured the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner last year, will not take place until a verdict is reached, Russian officials said.
But Biden’s government is working on a way to secure an early release.
Gershkovich is an American citizen whose parents are from the Soviet Union. He grew up in Princeton, New Jersey and graduated from Princeton High School in 2010.
He studied philosophy at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he played football and graduated in 2014.