MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court has deemed lawful a lower court’s extension of the pre-trial detention period of US national and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being held on charges of espionage, the court’s press service told TASS.

"On December 14, 2023, the Moscow City Court ruled that the decision of Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court of November 28 regarding the extension of pre-trial detention for Evan Gershkovich remain in effect and unchanged. The appeal filed by [the detainee’s] lawyers was dismissed. Gershkovich will remain in custody until January 30, 2024," the press service said.

The hearing took place in closed session, as the case file contains classified materials.

According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Gershkovich, "acting as an agent for the American side, collected top-secret data about the activity of an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex." In this connection, the journalist was detained in Yekaterinburg at the end of March 2023; criminal proceedings were initiated against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Espionage"). If found guilty, he may face up to 20 years in prison. Gershkovich pled not guilty to the charges.