INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Moscow court on Tuesday extended the pre-trial detention of United States journalist Evan Gershkovich until June 30, ensuring that he
Wall Street Journal reporter of espionage, the first such charge against a Western journalist in Russia since the fall of the Soviet
Union.The 32-year-old is being held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison and faces a maximum of 20 years in jail if found guilty.The
Moscow court's press service said it had "extended the term of detention of Evan Gershkovich until June 30, 2024" following a hearing in
year since Gershkovich's arrest by Federal Security Service (FSB) agents in the city of Yekaterinburg, around 1,400 kilometers east of
and wrongfully detained," United States Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said following the verdict."The accusations against Evan are
They are not a different interpretation of circumstances
They are fiction," she added outside the court.President Vladimir Putin said last month that he would like to see Gershkovich released as
part of a prisoner exchange.In remarks to conservative American TV commentator Tucker Carlson, he said talks between Russia and the United
States about a possible swap were ongoing.The Russian leader made clear he wanted any deal to involve the release of a Russian man who was
jailed in Germany for killing a Chechen dissident.
