Russian court extends Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's pretrial detention

The U.S. government and the Journal have said the reporter is not a spy.

Published: May 23, 2023 1:05pm

A Russian court extended the pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich until August 30, 2023, according to Russian state media on Tuesday.

The hearing at Lefortovo District Court in Moscow was held behind closed doors because some of the evidence was classified, state outlet TASS reported. Gershkovich was arrested in March on espionage charges.

The U.S. government and the Journal have said the reporter is not a spy, and the U.S. has said Gershkovich was "wrongfully detained."

Russia's Federal Security Service says that Gershkovich "collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of Russian defense companies," according to state media.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.