Russian court extends Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention by 3 months

May 23, 2023 Times Europe

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court, in Moscow, Russia, on April 18, 2023. | Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo

A Russian court on Tuesday extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months, according to a Russian state news agency.

Gershkovich was arrested in March in Yekaterinburg, Russia on espionage charges, which both the Journal and the State Department have denied.

The State Department designated Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained” by Russia in April. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to call for Gershkovich’s release, in a rare communication between high-level U.S. and Russian officials during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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