Russia extends WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich’s detention, US calls for immediate release

Russia has extendedWall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention who was arrested back in March on espionage charges, reported the Russian state media. Meanwhile, Washington reiterated its call for Gershkovich’s release following the announcement, on Tuesday (May 23).

Detention extended

Russian state media reported that the US journalist, who was initially supposed to be in pre-trial detention until May 29, will now remain in custodyfor three more months, till August 30. Gershkovich has been accused of collecting state secrets about the Russian industrial-militarycomplex and who Moscow claims to have caught “red-handed”.

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According to CNN, Gershkovich’s parents were also present at the Lefortovo court in Moscow for the recent hearing. A Russian court last month denied bail to the American journalist who faces up to 20 years in prison after he appeared in a court in Moscow to appeal a decision to keep him in pre-trial detention.

US responds to the extension

The US has reiterated its calls for Gershkovich’s release. “He shouldn’t be detained at all. Journalism is not a crime,” said the White House national security spokesman John Kirby, in an interview with CNN. He added, “He needs to be released immediately.”

Kirby also saidthat Washington will continue to “work very, very hard to see if we can get him home with his family where he belongs.” He also indicated that the US officials are pushing for consular access to Gershkovich directly with the Russians, saying that “there are no grounds for denying consular access.”

Gershkovich denied bail

The US citizen, who was arrestedon March 29by the Russian FSB security service in the Urals city of Yekaterinburgon espionage charges, had appealed a decision to keep him in pre-trial detention in a former KGB prison until the end of May.

The US also previously said that Gershkovich has been “wrongfully detained” and that the spy charges against him are bogus. President Joe Biden has called his imprisonment “totally illegal”.

Notably, the WSJ reporter is the first foreign journalist arrested on spying allegations since the collapse of the Soviet Union. As per reports, Gershkovich is currently being held at the Lefortovo prison along with others accused of treason and espionage in Moscow which in Soviet times was run by the KGB but is now operated by the Federal Penitentiary Service.

(With inputs from agencies)

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