Russian Court Extends Detention Of US Journalist

A court in Moscow has extended the pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until the end of March, meaning the journalist will spend at least a year behind bars in Russia.

United States Consul General Stuart Wilson attended Friday’s hearing at the Lefortovo District Court, which took place behind closed doors because authorities say details of the criminal case against the journalist are classified.

In video shared by the state news agency Ria Novosti, Gershkovich was shown listening to the ruling, standing in a court cage wearing a hooded top and light blue jeans. He was pictured a short time later walking towards a prison van as he left the court.

Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000km (1,200 miles) east of Moscow.

Russia’s Federal Security Service alleged that the reporter, “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 the US newspaper he works for deny the allegations, and the US government has said he has been wrongfully detained. Russian authorities have not detailed any evidence to support the espionage charges as his detention has been extended multiple times.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it will consider a swap for Gershkovich only after a verdict in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last for more than a year.

ALJAZEERA