Russian Court Extends Pre-Trial Detention of WSJ Reporter Gershkovich by 2 Months

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands inside an enclosure for defendants before a court hearing to consider an appeal against his pre-trial detention on espionage charges in Moscow on Oct. 10, 2023. Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

MOSCOW—A Moscow сourt extended the custody of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by two months on Friday as he awaits trial on spying charges that he denies.

Video released by Moscow City Court showed the reporter standing in a barred cage in the courtroom to listen to the decision, which extends his custody until March 30.

He has the right to appeal within three days. Previous appeals to be released from Moscow’s Lefortovo prison while awaiting trial have been refused.

Mr. Gershkovich was arrested on March 29, 2023 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and accused of trying to obtain defence secrets. He and his newspaper strongly reject the charges and the U.S. government has designated him as “wrongfully detained.”