Wrongfully imprisoned WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich has prison sentence extended again by Putin as he languishes in Russian prison

FALSE jailed reporter Evan Gershkovich his detention has been extended AGAIN after he was jailed by Putin last year on false espionage charges.

The 32 year old innocent American will now remain in custody in a notorious Moscow prison until the end of March.

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Gershkovich has so far spent 303 long and painful days behind bars.

He was filmed today listening to the verdict during the hearing behind closed doors, standing in a glass court cage, wearing a hoodie and light blue jeans.

He was then pictured smiling defiantly a short time later as he walked to a prison van to leave the court.

The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on March 29 on trumped-up charges of espionage.

Putin's spy agency claimed that the reporter, acting on behalf of the US side, collected secret information about Russia's military-industrial complex.

However, Russian officials not yet provided some evidence to publicly back up their claims.

Both Gershkovich and the Journal vehemently deny the allegations, while Washington falsely detains him.

The 32-year-old has made repeated calls to secure his freedom, but so far these have all been rejected.

He is the first Western reporter to be jailed for espionage in Russia since the Soviet era, and if convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Putin said this during his end-of-year press conference in December Moscow is conducting a 'dialogue' with Washington about bringing Gershkovich home and fellow prisoner American Paul Whelana former Marine.

It was a sign of new hope when the Russian despot announced that the Kremlin “hopes” to find a solution, even as he stated that it is not “easy”.

Putin said: “We have contacts on this issue with our American partners, there is a dialogue on this issue.

“It's not easy, I won't go into details now. But in general it seems to me that we speak a language that each of us understands.”

“I hope we will find a solution,” he continued. “But I repeat: the American side must hear us and make a decision that will also satisfy the Russian side.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it will only consider a trade for Gershkovich after a ruling in his trial.

But the US has previously claimed proposals have been rejected.

On October 26, Gershkovich spent his birthday behind bars while his sister called on the international community to demand his release.

“Every day Evan is in jail is a day too long,” Danielle Gershkovich said. “We want him home.”

In November, he was again denied his final bid for freedom as his detention pending trial was extended until the end of January.

Before that, a judge rejected his appeal in October and he was ordered to remain in custody until at least the end of November.

But each time the extension is completed, Putin's henchmen slap him with another few months behind bars, trapping him in a never-ending legal web.

In Russia, espionage trials can last more than a year.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be accused of espionage in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent, was arrested by the KGB.

Gershkovich is being held in Moscow's Lefortovo Prison, a notoriously grim prison known for holding Putin's political prisoners.

Analysts have said Moscow could use captured Americans as a bargaining chip after tensions between the US and Russia soared following the Russian crisis. invasion of Ukraine.

At least two American citizens have been arrested in Russia in recent years, including a basketball star Brittney Griner, have been exchanged for Russians imprisoned in the US.

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