A Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal aimed at freeing Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained on espionage charges that the U.S. describes as bogus.
The decision means Mr. Gershkovich will be detained until at least Nov. 30, according to his employer, which denounced the decision.
“It has now been more than six months since Evan’s unjust arrest, and we are outraged that he continues to be wrongfully detained,” said a spokeswoman for Dow Jones, the Journal’s parent company. “The accusation against him is categorically false, and we call for his immediate release.”
Mr. Gershkovich, 31, was arrested on March 29 by the Federal Security Service and charged with working as a spy for the U.S. government, an allegation that he and U.S. officials deny.
He is the first American reporter charged since the end of the Cold War and is caught in the diplomatic crossfire over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier in the Ukraine war, the U.S. used a prisoner swap to free U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner from Russian detention.
The Journal reported that Mr. Gershkovich stood inside a transparent holding box during his hearing and wore jeans and a shirt over a white T-shirt.
Russian law allows prosecutors to request extensions of pretrial detention. Previous motions to free Mr. Gershkovich or move him from Moscow’s Lefortovo prison to house arrest have failed.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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