Russian court extends jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has had his pre-trial detention in a Russian prison extended after a brief hearing.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has had his pre-trial detention in a Russian prison extended, five months after he was arrested on espionage charges.

The extension was issued during a brief hearing in Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court on Thursday, according to local news agencies.

Gershkovich will now remain in jail until at least November 30.

His detention was initially set to expire on May 29, but was extended to the end of August after a request by Russia’s Federal Security Service.

The period of pre-trial detention in Russia can be extended for up to 12 months

Gershkovich, a 31-year-old US citizen, was arrested on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, a city east of the Ural Mountains, on spying charges.

Evan Gershkovich is the first American journalist arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the end of the Cold War. Photo: AFP

He could face a sentence of up to 20 years if found guilty.

The Wall Street Journal said in an earlier statement that Gershkovich’s “wrongful detention is outrageous and we continue to demand his immediate release”.

No date has been set for the trial and Thursday’s hearing was closed to the public.

The FSS have claimed Gershkovich was collecting information about a Russian defence company that was a supposed state secret.

U.S. President Joe Biden has previously called Gershkovich’s detention “totally illegal” with the White House adding the charges are “ridiculous”.

Mr Biden confirmed last month that he was “serious on a prisoner exchange” for Gershkovich after the prospect was floated by the Kremlin weeks earlier.

Gershkovich is the first American journalist arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the end of the Cold War.

His parents were both born in the Soviet Union and fled to the United States in the late 1970s.

Originally published as Russian court extends jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention