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Moscow court extends detention of WSJ reporter for another three months

The court hearing was held behind closed doors because the case involves classified materials
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich Press service of the Moscow City Court/TASS
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
© Press service of the Moscow City Court/TASS

MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court has extended the term of detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, until the end of November, a court source told TASS.

"The court has satisfied a motion filed by an FSB investigator for extending Gershkovich’s term of detention until November 30," the source said.

The court hearing was held behind closed doors because the case involves classified materials. The reporter’s current term of detention is set to expire on August 30.

According to the Public Relations Center of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Gershkovich, "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." The reporter was detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and charged with espionage under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code.