Moscow City Court extends arrest of WSJ's Gershkovich, charged with spying, for 3 months

MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax) - The Moscow City Court has upheld an investigator's motion and extended the arrest of Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent of the Wall Street Journal's Moscow bureau charged with spying, the court's press service told Interfax.

"A court ruling extends Gershkovich's arrest until June 30, 2024," the court's press service said on Tuesday.

The court met in camera as materials in the proceeding are classified.

By June 30, Gershkovich will have stayed under arrest for one year and three months.

On March 29, 2023, the public relations department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) said that Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen born in 1991, was detained and charged with espionage. According to the FSB, Gershkovich was "acting on the orders of the U.S., gathering information about a Russian defense plant that constitutes a state secret." Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg "while trying to obtain secret information," FSB said then.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said later that Gershkovich was caught red-handed. Gershkovich pled not guilty, his defense team said. U.S. authorities said his arrest was wrongful and are seeking to secure his release.