WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
A Russian court has extended the detention of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich for three months after he was charged with espionage.
The 31-year-old man was arrested on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, and charged with espionage punishable by a 20-year prison sentence.
The Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, accused him of gathering 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 infamous Lefortovo prison awaiting trial.
A hearing was held on Tuesday before a Lefortovo District Court judge who granted the request to extend Gershkovich’s detention until at least August 30.
Pictured at a hearing on April 18: A Russian court extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months after he was accused of spying while on a reporting trip
Gershkovich was arrested on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, and charged with espionage carrying a 20-year prison sentence.
Gershkovich’s parents, Ella and Mikhail Gershkovich, waited outside the courtroom for an hour before being allowed in and saw him for the first time since his arrest.
They were taken away, along with one of his lawyers, at the end of the hearing but did not comment on what they saw.
“We hope he’s okay and he can be as strong as his mother,” Gershkovich’s father said before the hearing as his mother wore a “Free Evan” button.
Gershkovich reportedly worked on a story about the Wagner private military company before his arrest. The FSB accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.
Both Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal deny the espionage charges, which President Joe Biden has called illegal, and the United States has officially deemed him “wrongfully detained.”
But the Kremlin said Gershkovich, the first American journalist detained in Russia for espionage since the end of the Cold War, had been caught “in the act”.
The FSB confirmed that Gershkovich was working with press credentials issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
He is the first American journalist to be arrested for spying in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Gershkovich was using his journalistic credentials as a cover for “activities that have nothing to do with journalism.”
Gershkovich had lived in Moscow since 2017 and worked as a journalist.
A hearing was held before a judge at the Lefortovo District Court in Moscow, who granted the request to extend Gershkovich’s detention until at least August 30.
Both Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal deny the espionage charges, which President Joe Biden has called illegal, and the United States has officially deemed him “wrongfully detained.”
Pictured: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted by Lefortovsky court officers to a bus, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 30, 2023
He is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which dates back to the Tsarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times.
Russian lawyers said previous investigations into espionage cases had lasted between a year and 18 months, during which time he may have had little contact with the outside world.
He had already appeared in court on April 18 when a Moscow judge confirmed his detention.
His legal team had suggested he be released on 50 million rubles ($614,000) bail or placed under house arrest, but both suggestions were rejected.
Gershkovich stood in a glass and metal enclosure inside the courtroom, wearing a plaid shirt, arms crossed in front of him. He said nothing during the hearing.
Before it started, Gershkovich turned around when one of the Russian reporters in the courtroom told him to “Stay strong!” and let him know that everyone said “Hi”.
Gershkovich is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which dates back to the Tsarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times.
Gershkovich reportedly worked on a story about the Wagner private military company before his arrest
Lynne Marie Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, was also present in the courtroom last month.
At the time, she said she visited Gershkovich in prison and described him as “healthy and staying strong.”
A prisoner swap, similar to the one that freed American basketball star Brittney Griner last year, cannot take place until a verdict is reached, Russian officials say.
But the Biden administration 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 in 2010 from Princeton High School.
He studied philosophy at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he played football and graduated in 2014.
Russia EXTENDS Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention by three months