MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2023) The Embassy of the United States in Moscow said Tuesday it was concerned about the decision of a Russian district court to extend the pre-trial detention of The Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage.
Earlier in the day, the Lefortovo district court of Moscow told Sputnik that it extended until August 30 the detention period of Gershkovich.
"We are deeply concerned about today's decision by a Russian court to extend the pre-trial detention of US citizen and The Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich for another three months," the embassy said on Telegram.
The embassy said the Russian authorities "unreasonably" deny consular access to the reporter, adding that Moscow denied the embassy's second request for consular access to Gershkovich last week.
The mission reiterated that the charges against Gershkovich were "unfounded" and called for his immediate release.
Earlier on Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US was urging Russia to provide consular access to Gershkovich. Miller emphasized that the US has not had any consular access to Gershkovich since his arrest and pointed out that US embassy representatives in Moscow attended the court hearing earlier on Tuesday. He also said the State Department was aware of Gershkovich's parents' visit to Moscow but pointed out that the department did not help arrange their travel.
White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told CNN on Tuesday that Gershkovich "shouldn't be detained at all" as "journalism is not a crime."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in response to Kirby's statement, said on Telegram that "journalism is not what Gershkovich was doing in (the Russian city of) Yekaterinburg," adding that "journalism is what (WikiLeaks founder Julian) Assange was doing and what he is in prison for (in the United Kingdom) because of the American persecution."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Monday that Russia has clearly explained the reasons for denying consular access and the decision on whether to grant it would depend on the situation. Ryabkov also said Russia is not yet ready to formulate the parameters or conditions for providing consular access in Gershkovich's case.
In April, the Russian Foreign Ministry rejected the US Embassy's request to visit Gershkovich in detention. The decision was made after the US did not issue visas to Russian journalists on time to travel with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to New York to attend United Nations events that month.
