Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will not stand trial in Russia for at least two more months after Friday's Moscow court hearing.
The 32-year-old American journalist was initially arrested on suspicion of espionage in March 2023, but his trial continues to be delayed. On Friday, the Lefortovo District Court extended his pretrial detention until March 30. That means he can't even stand trial until he's been jailed for a year.
Gershkovic has the right to appeal within three days. However, previous appeals to be released from Moscow's Lefortovo prison have been rejected.
State news agency Ria Novosti aired a video of Gershković, wearing a hooded top and light blue jeans, listening to the verdict in a cage in the courtroom. He was then taken towards the prison van.
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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals region on suspicion of espionage. (Moscow City Court Press Room/Handout (Reuter Attention)
The Wall Street Journal reporter was initially detained during a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, with Russia's Federal Security Service claiming he was trying to obtain national defense secrets.
Russia claimed that he “acted on instructions from the American side and collected information that constituted state secrets regarding the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Mr. Gershkovic and the Journal vehemently deny these charges and strongly reject the charges against him.
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The US government also found that he was being “unjustly detained” and called for his release.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovitch (right) is escorted from the Lefortovsky courtroom in Moscow, Russia, on Friday. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlyanichenko)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his government remained in touch with the United States to find a way to bring Gershkovych and imprisoned American Paul Whelan home.
The Kremlin said it hoped to “find a solution” even though it “will not be easy.”
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Evan Gershkovich's hearing was held behind closed doors because Russian authorities say the details of the criminal case against the Wall Street Journal reporter are classified. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlyanichenko)
“We are in contact with our US partners on this issue and we are also having dialogue on this issue. It is not easy, so I will not go into details right now. But generally speaking, we are It seems like we are speaking a language. We understand,” Putin said.
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He added: “We hope that a solution can be found. But again, the American side has to listen to us and make a decision that the Russian side is also satisfied with.”
Mr. Gershkovic is the first American journalist to be charged with spying in Russia since 1986.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
