Moscow court extends pre-trial detention of U.S. reporter by three months

U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich had his pre-trial detention extended by three months by a Russian court on Thursday, Interfax reported, on charges of espionage that he denies.
The Moscow court extended the detention of the Wall Street Journal reporter to Nov. 30 from Aug. 30. Gershkovich was present at the hearing.
Gershkovich was arrested on March 29 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on spying charges that carry up to 20 years in prison.
His newspaper has emphatically rejected the charge and the United States has accused Russia of conducting “hostage diplomacy”, at a time when bilateral relations are at their lowest point for more than 60 years due to Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
The FSB security service said Gershkovich was collecting information about a Russian defence company that was a state secret. The Kremlin said he was caught “red-handed” but has provided no detail to support the assertion.