Evan Gerhskovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage allegations, will remain in custody until the end of August, a court in Moscow ruled on Thursday, dismissing the journalist’s appeal.
The 31-year-old was detained in late March in Ekaterinburg while traveling for work. Last month, a Moscow court authorized his detention to August 30. The ruling was contested by the defense attorneys, but the appeal was denied on Thursday by the Moscow City Court.
While waiting for the hearing to start, Gershkovich, who was dressed in a black T-shirt and light blue pants, appeared anxious and paced behind a glass defendant’s cage. Both Gershkovich and the Journal deny that he was a Russian spy. The U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained and demanded his immediate release.
Gershkovich is currently being kept at Moscow’s Lefortovo jail, which is infamous for its brutal conditions. Officials from the U.S. Embassy were permitted to meet him once, but two other requests to see him were denied by Russian authorities.