Russia extends detention of US journalist Evan Gershkovich by 3 months
A Russian court on Tuesday extended the arrest of Evan Gershkovich by three months in a closed-door hearing emblematic of the secrecy that has marked the case against the first U.S. correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying charges.
Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American citizen, was ordered held until Aug. 30. He had been arrested in March on espionage charges on a reporting trip in Russia. He, his employer and the U.S. government have denied the charges.
Tuesday바카라 게임 웹사이트s pre-trial hearing wasn바카라 게임 웹사이트t announced in advance, and the entire case has been wrapped in secrecy.
Russian authorities haven바카라 게임 웹사이트t detailed what 바카라 게임 웹사이트 if any 바카라 게임 웹사이트 evidence they have gathered to support the espionage charges.
Various legal proceedings have been closed to the media. No details immediately emerged about whether Gershkovich attended Tuesday's hearing or what was said. Tass said the session was closed because the reporter was accused of possession of 바카라 게임 웹사이트secret materials.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night that Gershkovich바카라 게임 웹사이트s parents, Soviet emigres living in New Jersey, were visiting Moscow and saw their son during the short hearing.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I don바카라 게임 웹사이트t know how to describe this happiness and this sadness at the same time,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the newspaper quoted the reporter's mother, Ella Milman, as saying. She said Gershkovich looked relaxed and well, and that they communicated through smiles.
The U.S. State Department said at least one U.S. Embassy official also attended the hearing.
Gershkovich's arrest has rattled journalists in the country and drawn outrage in the West.
The U.S. government has declared Gershkovich to be and demanded his immediate release. He바카라 게임 웹사이트s being held in Moscow바카라 게임 웹사이트s Lefortovo prison.
U.S. Embassy officials were allowed to visit Gershkovich once in prison since his arrest in Yekaterinburg on March 29, but Russian authorities have denied two more recent requests to see him.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington, 바카라 게임 웹사이트We once again call on Russia to comply with their obligation to provide consular access to him.바카라 게임 웹사이트 He added that the charges against Gershkovich "are baseless and we continue to call for his immediate release as well as for the immediate release of Paul Whelan.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, is serving a 16-year espionage sentence in a remote Russian prison. The retired U.S. Marine was detained in 2018. Whelan and Washington deny he spied in Russia.
The Biden administration had hoped to secure Whelan바카라 게임 웹사이트s release during negotiations on a prisoner exchange that eventually freed American basketball star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison last December.
Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips in soaring U.S.-Russian tensions over the Kremlin바카라 게임 웹사이트s military operation in Ukraine.
In a statement after Tuesday's hearing, the Wall Street Journal said: 바카라 게임 웹사이트While we expected there would be no change to Evan's wrongful detention, we are deeply disappointed. The accusations are demonstrably false, and we continue to demand his immediate release.바카라 게임 웹사이트