A Moscow court on Tuesday said it had extended the detention of U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia earlier this year on spying charges.
The court said Gershkovich’s “period of detention” was extended by two more months until January 30.
The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal correspondent in Moscow, his employer and the U.S. government have all rejected the spying allegations.
Tuesday’s hearing was held behind closed doors, and no press were allowed inside.
The extension of Gershkovich’s detention was almost certain, as Moscow rarely releases people imprisoned while awaiting trial on serious charges.
Gershkovich was arrested during a reporting trip at the end of March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, becoming the first Western reporter to be jailed on spying charges in Russia since the Soviet era.
He has been held at Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison.
A video released by the court showed Gershkovich standing in a metal cage for defendants during Tuesday’s hearing, wearing a checked shirt and dark hooded jacket.
The American, who previously worked for The Moscow Times and the French news agency AFP, continued to report from Russia after the Kremlin launched its war against Ukraine, despite many Western journalists leaving the country.
Russia has not provided public evidence of its allegations against Gershkovich.
