Russia extends arrest of US journalist Evan Gershkovich by 3 months

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has extended the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months. The decision came in a closed-door hearing emblematic of the secrecy that has marked the case against the first United States correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying charges. Gershkovich, an American citizen, was ordered held until Aug. 30. He was arrested in March on espionage charges on a reporting trip in Russia. He, his employer and the U.S. government have denied the charges. The U.S. government has declared Gershkovich to be “wrongfully detained” and demanded his immediate release. He’s being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.