Posted on 08/24/23
| News Source: PBS
A Moscow court ruled Thursday that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich must stay in jail on espionage charges until the end of November, Russian state news agency Tass reported.
Gershkovich has been sitting in jail since the end of March when he was detained in the city of Yekaterinburg, almost 2,000km (1200 miles) east of Moscow, while on a reporting trip. The latest ruling means he faces spending at least eight months in prison.
Gershkovich, a 31-year-old U.S. citizen, arrived at the Moscow court Thursday in a white prison van and was led out handcuffed, wearing jeans, sneakers and a shirt. He appeared in court to hear the result of the prosecution’s motion to extend his arrest from Aug. 30.
Journalists outside the court were not allowed to witness the proceedings. Tass said the hearing was held behind closed doors because details of the criminal case are classified.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said Gershkovich, “acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Gershkovich and his employer deny the allegations, and the U.S. government declared him to be wrongfully detained. His case has been wrapped in secrecy. Russian authorities haven’t detailed what — if any — evidence they have gathered to support the espionage charges.