Family, colleagues mark 250 days since Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Monday marked 250 days since Wall Street Journal reporter and Princeton, New Jersey native Evan Gershkovich has been detained in Russia.
Recently, the Russian court extended his detention until January 30, a full ten months after he was taken into custody.
Evan's lawyers will appeal, but that is not expected to be successful.
Action News spoke with Gershkovich's sister Danielle, who lives in Philadelphia, along with Wall Street Journal Washington Bureau Chief Paul Beckett.
"It just gets darker and harder as time goes on," said Danielle Gershkovich. "We just have to continue to stay strong, keep going as we're going and do whatever it takes to get Evan home."
"The latest we have is that he will be detained for sure until the end of January, in pre-trial detention" Beckett explained. "They could extend that up to one year which would take it to the end of March. Really, they could extend it for as long as they want because the system is so flexible and opaque to us."
READ MORE: Sister of detained Wall Street Journal reporter, a Philadelphia resident, talks to Action News
"Obviously, our hope is that the U.S. government will find a way to short-circuit the entire process and bring back an innocent man," Beckett added. "We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. government. We do think that they are taking it seriously, but it's 250 days and he's not home. So every day that he is not home suggests to us that more needs to be done."
Supporters are writing letters to Evan and encouraging people to go to WSJ.com to read Evan's reporting. They are also using the hashtag #istandwithevan to show their support.
Danielle added that she appreciates the efforts of her fellow Philadelphians to push for her brother's release from Russian prison.
"We so appreciate it," she said. "Just continue to read Evan's journalism and continue to share his story with friends and family."
