Russia EXTENDS the custody of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months

A Russian court has extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months after he was charged with espionage.

The 31-year-old was arrested in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg on March 29 and charged with espionage, which could carry 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 he reported in the country.

Gershkovich, who grew up in New Jersey, is being held in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison as he awaits trial.

A hearing was held on Tuesday before a judge of the Lefortovo District Court, who granted the request to extend Gershkovich’s detention until at least August 30.

Gershkovich was arrested on March 29 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and charged with espionage, which could carry a possible 20-year prison sentence.

Gershkovich’s parents Ella and Mikhail Gershkovich waited outside the courtroom for an hour before being allowed to enter and caught a glimpse of him for the first time since his arrest.

They were taken away with one of his lawyers when the hearing ended, but did not comment on what they saw.

“We hope he is well and can be as strong as his mother,” Gershkovich’s father said ahead of the hearing as his mother wore a “Free Evan” button.

Gershkovich was reportedly working on a story about the Wagner Group, Russia’s notorious mercenary force before his arrest. The FSB accused him of trying to obtain secret information about a Russian arms factory.

The reporter and the Wall Street Journal both deny the espionage charges, which President Joe Biden called illegal, and the United States officially deems him “wrongly detained.”

But the Kremlin said Gershkovich, the first American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, had been caught in the act.

The FSB confirmed that Gershkovich was working with press accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said Gershkovich used his journalistic credentials as a cover for “activities that have nothing to do with journalism.”

Gershkovich has lived in Moscow since 2017 and worked for Journal’s Moscow bureau to cover the war in Ukraine.

A hearing was held before a judge of the Lefortovo District Court in Moscow, who granted the request to extend Gershkovich’s detention until at least August 30.

Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal both deny the espionage charges, which President Joe Biden called illegal, and the United States officially considers him “wrongly detained.”

Pictured: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted to a bus by Lefortovsky Court agents in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 30, 2023

He is held in Lefortovo Prison, which dates back to the tsarist era and has been a terrifying symbol of repression since Soviet times.

According to Russian lawyers, previous investigations into espionage cases lasted from a year to 18 months, during which time he had little contact with the outside world.

He previously appeared in court on April 18 when a Moscow judge upheld 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 fence in the courtroom, dressed in a plaid shirt with his arms folded in front of him. He said nothing during the hearing.

Before it got underway, Gershkovich turned his back when one of the Russian reporters in the courtroom told him, “Stay Strong!” and told him everyone said ‘Hello’.

Gershkovich is 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 was reportedly working on a story about the private military company Wagner before his arrest

Lynne Marie Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, was also present in court last month.

She said at the time that she visited Gershkovich in prison and described him as “in good health and staying strong.”

A prisoner exchange similar to the one that released US basketball player Brittney Griner last year will not take place until a verdict is reached, according to Russian officials.

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 and 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 soccer and graduated in 2014.

He is the first American reporter to be arrested in Russia on espionage charges since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.