Russia: US journalist Gershkovich remains in detention until 30 January 2024
On Tuesday 28 November, a Moscow court extended by two months - until 30 January - the pre-trial detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested at the end of March 2023 in Russia for "espionage", a charge he denies.
"The period of detention of Evan Gershkovich (our illustration photo) is extended by two months," the press service of the Lefortovsky court in Russia said in a statement on November 28. REUTERS - EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA
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Evan Gershkovich's detention period (...) is extended by two months (...), until January 30, 2024," the press service of the Lefortovsky court said in a statement on November 28. According to a video released by the court, Evan Gershkovich, dressed in a black-and-white square shirt and a dark hooded jacket, listened calmly to the court's decision from a metal cage intended for defendants.
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The press was not allowed to attend the hearing, which was held behind closed doors. Only a handful of journalists gathered outside the courthouse gates in the freezing cold, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. The prolongation of his detention was almost certain, as the Russian judiciary very rarely releases people who are incarcerated while awaiting trial on such serious charges.
Gershkovich, a journalist with the Wall Street Journal, was arrested by Russian security services while reporting in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, on March 29. Since then, he has been held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, which is used by the Russian security service (FSB) to keep prisoners in near-total solitude.
The 32-year-old respected reporter, who has also worked for AFP in Moscow in the past, is charged with espionage, a crime punishable by up to <> years in prison, but he rejects the charges, as does Washington, his newspaper, his close friends and his family. Russia has never substantiated its accusations or publicly provided evidence, and the entire proceedings have been classified. No date for his trial has yet been set.
Diplomatic tensions
His arrest comes amid serious diplomatic tensions between the United States and Russia, caused by the conflict in Ukraine. Washington supports Kiev militarily and financially against Moscow. The imprisonment of a foreign journalist duly accredited by the Russian authorities is unprecedented since Soviet times. In recent years, several U.S. citizens have been arrested and sentenced to long sentences in Russia, with Washington accusing Moscow of wanting to exchange them for Russians held in the United States.
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