A Moscow court has prolonged the pre-trial detention of Evan Gershkovich, a journalist with the Wall Street Journal, by three months on espionage charges, CNN reports.
The Lefortovo Court announced on August 24 that Gershkovich's detention would be extended until November 30. This decision came after his previous pretrial detention, which was set to conclude on August 30, had already been extended on May 23 as he awaits trial.
Gershkovich's attempt to appeal against the extension of his pre-trial detention in Moscow was unsuccessful on June 22. Since his arrest in March, Gershkovich has been held in custody in Russia, facing charges of espionage that he, the Wall Street Journal, and the U.S. government have vehemently denied.
This arrest marked the first instance of detaining an American journalist in Russia on spying allegations since the Cold War, causing concern among White House officials and intensifying tensions between Moscow and Washington. The U.S. State Department has officially labeled Gershkovich as unjustly detained in Russia, while U.S. President Joe Biden has taken a strong stance on the issue, urging Russia to "release him."
In the past month, Biden expressed his commitment to pursuing a potential prisoner exchange to secure Gershkovich's freedom.
"I'm committed to a prisoner exchange. I'm committed to doing everything we can to secure the release of Americans who are being held unlawfully in Russia or anywhere else, for that matter. And that process is underway," Biden stated during a press conference in Helsinki in July.
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