A Russian court extended the arrest of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter accused of espionage, for three months.
The Lefortovsky District Court of Moscow on Tuesday extended his pretrial detention until Aug. 30, according to Russian state media. Virtually all espionage cases in Russia end in a guilty verdict, and Gershkovich is facing up to 20 years in prison.
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In late March, Russian authorities detained Gershkovich on similar allegations, and the Biden administration determined shortly thereafter that he was being wrongfully detained, which is a legal definition determined by the State Department.
The court has operated mainly in secrecy with Tuesday’s hearing not being announced in advance, and Russian authorities have not revealed any evidence to support the allegations against Gershkovich.
The State Department’s determination that he met the criteria to be considered wrongfully detained (or essentially a political prisoner) puts his case under the purview of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. The office, led by Roger Carstens, has additional resources that can be allocated to the cases that fall under its responsibility.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his department is “intensely engaged” in trying to secure Gershkovich’s freedom, though he said in early May: “I wish I could say that in this moment there was a clear way forward. I — we don’t have that in this moment, but it’s something that we’re working every single day.”
Gershkovich is the first U.S. journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War.
