Detention extended – American journalist remains in “oppression machine”

A Russian court has extended the pre-trial detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich by three months for alleged espionage. The investigators had requested that the correspondent of the renowned American newspaper “Wall Street Journal” be detained in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison until August 30.

The detention was initially scheduled until May 29. So Gershkovich has to stay in the notorious Moscow prison Lefortovo. Former inmates describe the facility as a “repressive machine” designed to isolate the inmates from the outside world.

Gershkovich’s lawyer, Tatyana Noshkina, said in April after a court rejected appeal that the 32-year-old denied the allegations. The US had called for the journalist’s “immediate release”.

Gershkovich faces 20 years in prison
The correspondent was arrested by the Russian secret service FSB in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg at the end of March. According to the FSB, he would have collected secret information about the military-industrial complex for US authorities. The American newspaper had rejected this, emphasizing that Gershkovich had continued his journalistic work with his accreditation from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

If convicted, the journalist with Russian roots risks up to 20 years in prison. The case further strained already tense relations between Washington and Moscow. However, Moscow insists on Gershkovich’s guilt.

Kremlin: ‘Caught in the act’
He was “caught in the act” spying on behalf of the US government, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The White House denies these unproven allegations.

Russia’s anti-terror and espionage laws have been drastically tightened in recent years. Famous opposition figures such as Alexei Navalany and Vladimir Kara-Mursa were imprisoned under the new rules.