Russia extends reporter Evan Gershkovich's pretrial detention

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- A court in Moscow, acting at the request of Russian authorities, on Thursday extended the pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to November.

Gershkovich has been held since March 29 when he was arrested by Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, on espionage charges while on a reporting trip in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

"The court's decision in respect of Gershkovich extended the period of detention for three months, and only up to eight months, that is, until November 30, 2023," the court's press service said.

Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the United States have denied the charges against him, while the U.S. State Department has designated the journalists as being wrongfully detained.

In making that designation, the State Department examines the totality of the circumstances related to the arrest, including the fairness of the judicial process, the veracity of the charges and potential motivations for the person's detention.

Gershkovich's pretrial detention was scheduled to end on Aug. 30 after it was extended on May 23. He lost an appeal on June 22.

"Evan's wrongful detention is outrageous and we continue to demand his immediate release," the Journal said in a statement.

Under Russian law, authorities can hold a person for up to 12 months pretrial. The court also can allow for additional extensions to give investigators the ability to build their case.

The FSB said, according to the state-run news agency TASS, Gershkovich was "acting at the behest of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise within Russia's military-industrial complex."