No date yet for WSJ’s Gershkovich trial

No date has been made public for the trial of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter caught in a justice system in which defendants can wait for a year or more before their cases are heard.

Ann Simmons, Matthew Luxmoore and Louise Radnofsky of The Journal report, “Last week, a Russian judge granted investigators’ request that Gershkovich remain behind bars until Nov. 30, creating the potential for him to remain incarcerated for at least eight months before a trial begins. Gershkovich’s lawyers have filed an appeal to the latest extension of his pretrial detention.

“Further extensions are possible. Under Russian law, pretrial detention can be extended every three months up to a year, and courts can grant additional extensions—for a total of 18 months—as prosecutors and investigators assemble their case, according to Russian lawyers involved in previous espionage cases.

“Even then, prosecutors can persuade judges to keep a defendant behind bars, appealing to higher courts or getting approval for a new arrest warrant.”

Read more here.