Russia extends detention of Gershkovich again
The "Wall Street Journal" reporter Gershkovich has been in Russian custody for almost eight months. The US government and his employer are calling for his immediate release. However, a Moscow court has now extended his detention again.
A Moscow court has once again extended the pre-trial detention on espionage charges against US journalist Evan Gershkovich. It is now valid for a further two months until January 30, the Lefortovo District Court announced. Gershkovich was arrested by the FSB domestic intelligence service in Yekaterinburg in the Urals on March 29.
According to the allegations, the reporter for the "Wall Street Journal" is said to have collected state secrets about a military-industrial complex. His detention was only extended by three months in August. Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison. He denies the allegations. Gershkovich is the first US journalist to be imprisoned on suspicion of espionage in Russia since the end of the Cold War. The US government and the Wall Street Journal again called for Gershkovich's immediate release. "Evan has now been wrongfully imprisoned for nearly 250 days, and every day is a day too long," the newspaper explained.
The accusations are false and his continued detention is a brazen and outrageous attack on press freedom. The US embassy in Moscow said: "We are deeply concerned about the court's decision." Gershkovich has repeatedly failed to appeal against his imprisonment in court. According to diplomats, Russia could seek a prisoner exchange with the USA.
However, Russia has stated that there can be no exchange in the Gershkovich case until a verdict has been reached. However, no date has yet been announced for his trial. Gershkovich grew up in the state of New Jersey as the son of Soviet emigrants and speaks fluent Russian. He moved to Moscow in 2017 to work for the English-language "Moscow Times".
The extended detention of Evan Gershkovich, a US journalist for the "Wall Street Journal," is currently under scrutiny by the USA and his employer, as his detainment in Moscow, Russia, has surpassed eight months. This ongoing situation, which has led to calls for his immediate release, has drawn attention to potential threats to press freedom.
Source: www.ntv.de
