Current:Home > MarketsRussian court extends Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's detention by 3 months-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Russian court extends Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's detention by 3 months
View Date:2024-12-24 00:04:13
Washington — A Russian court has extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for at least another three months, Russian media outlets said Tuesday, the latest setback in efforts to secure his release.
News agencies TASS and Interfax reported that Lefortovsky District Court in Moscow ordered Gershkovich held until Aug. 30, citing the court's press service. Gershkovich faces espionage charges that the U.S. has denounced as fabricated, and the State Department has determined he is being "wrongfully detained," a designation that requires the U.S. government to work to secure his release.
The 31-year-old correspondent was arrested in March in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg and soon charged with spying. The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed he was "caught red-handed while trying to obtain secret information" and "using his journalistic status as a cover for illegal actions," a charge strenuously denied by Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials. He appealed his pretrial detention in April, which was rejected by the court.
His detention has sparked an uproar in the U.S., with congressional leaders of both parties issuing rare statements demanding his immediate release. President Biden has condemned his continued imprisonment and spoke to his family in April. The U.S. ambassador to Russia visited Gershkovich in the prison where he is being held last month.
Gershkovich is the first U.S. journalist to be detained for alleged spying in Russia since the Cold War. The detention of U.S. citizens has become a key point of leverage for the Kremlin as it seeks to maintain its war effort in Ukraine while under crippling sanctions by the West. WNBA star Brittney Griner was released in a prisoner exchange with the U.S. last year, a deal that saw a notorious Russian arms dealer being handed over to Moscow.
The U.S. issued new sanctions in April targeting the Russian security service, known as the FSB, for their role in unlawfully detaining Americans.
At least one other American is currently being wrongfully detained in Russia, according to the U.S. Paul Whelan, an American businessman, has been held behind bars since 2018 and is serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges. He told CNN over the weekend he believes the "wheels are turning" toward securing his release. Whelan has been left out of the prisoner exchanges that saw Griner and another American, Trevor Reed, go free.
veryGood! (64)
Related
- The USDA is testing raw milk for the avian flu. Is raw milk safe?
- New Congressional bill aimed at confronting NIL challenges facing NCAA athletes released
- Booksellers seek to block Texas book ban on sexual content ratings in federal lawsuit
- Taliban orders beauty salons in Afghanistan to close despite UN concern and rare public protest
- The Cowboys, claiming to be 'all in' prior to Dak Prescott's injury, are in a rare spot: Irrelevance
- Greta Thunberg defiant after court fines her: We cannot save the world by playing by the rules
- Crews battle untamed central Arizona wildfire, hundreds of homes under enforced evacuation orders
- Bronny James, LeBron James' oldest son and USC commit, hospitalized after cardiac arrest
- Colts' Kenny Moore II ridicules team's effort in loss to Bills
- Gigi Hadid Spotted for the First Time in Public Since Arrest
Ranking
- New Jersey will issue a drought warning after driest October ever and as wildfires rage
- Bowe Bergdahl's conviction vacated by federal judge
- Most-Shopped Celeb-Recommended Items This Month: Kendall Jenner, Jennifer Aniston, Alix Earle & More
- 3 Marines found dead in car near Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
- Beyoncé has released lots of new products. Here's a Beyhive gift guide for the holidays
- Pedestrians scatter as fire causes New York construction crane’s arm to collapse and crash to street
- How Timothée Chalamet Helped Make 4 Greta Gerwig Fans' Night
- We Ranked All of Sandra Bullock's Rom-Coms and Yes, It Was Very Hard to Do
Recommendation
-
What Just Happened to the Idea of Progress?
-
PacWest, Banc of California to merge on heels of US regional banking crisis
-
Michael K. Williams’ nephew urges compassion for defendant at sentencing related to actor’s death
-
500-year-old manuscript signed by Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés returned to Mexico
-
New York nursing home operator accused of neglect settles with state for $45M
-
Unexplained outage at Chase Bank leads to interruptions at Zelle payment network
-
Justin Herbert agrees to massive deal with Chargers, becomes NFL's highest-paid quarterback
-
NatWest Bank CEO ousted after furor over politician Nigel Farage’s bank account