Russia extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by 3 months
- Moscow court lengthened journalist’s pre-trial detention to June 30. US ambassador said Kremlin was using Gershkovich and other US citizens as pawns
- Gershkovich was jailed in March 2023 on spying charges. He is first US reporter to be detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service since Cold War
A Russian court on Tuesday extended by three months the pre-trial detention of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested almost a year ago on suspicion of espionage while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg.
The hearing was closed to the media but the Moscow court service published photographs and a brief video showing Gershkovich standing in a glass box in court. He appeared relaxed and was smiling in some of the pictures.
US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy demanded that Russia free Gershkovich and said the Kremlin was using him and other American citizens as pawns.
“This verdict to further prolong Evan’s detention feels particularly painful, as this week marks one year since Evan was arrested and wrongfully detained in Yekaterinburg simply for doing his job as a journalist,” Tracy said.
The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Gershkovich had been trying to obtain military secrets. He has now spent almost a year at Moscow’s high-security Lefortovo prison, which is closely associated with the FSB, and his detention has been extended to June 30.
Western diplomats say Russia aims to build up a store of arrested US citizens who could be swapped for Russians detained in the West.
