MOSCOW (AP)– A court in Moscow on Tuesday extended the detention of Wall Street Journal press reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained on espionage charges, up until Jan. 30, Russian news firms reported.
The hearing happened behind closed doors due to the fact that authorities state information of the criminal case versus the American reporter are categorized.
Gershkovich, 32, was apprehended in March while on a reporting journey to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) east of Moscow. Russia’s Federal Security Service declared that the press reporter, “acting upon the guidelines of the American side, gathered info making up a state trick about the activities of among the business of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Gershkovich and the Journal reject the accusations, and the U.S. federal government has actually stated him to be wrongfully apprehended. Russian authorities have not detailed any proof to support the espionage charges.
Gershkovich is the very first American press reporter to be charged with espionage in Russia because 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow reporter for U.S. News and World Report, was apprehended by the KGB. He is being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo jail, well-known for its extreme conditions.
Experts have actually mentioned that Moscow might be utilizing imprisoned Americans as bargaining chips after U.S.-Russian stress skyrocketed when Russia sent out soldiers into Ukraine. A minimum of 2 U.S. people apprehended in Russia in the last few years– consisting of WNBA star Brittney Griner — have actually been exchanged for Russians imprisoned in the U.S.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated it will think about a swap for Gershkovich just after a decision in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last for more than a year.
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