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MOSCOW — A Russian court extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for another three months on Tuesday.
The American journalist faces unsubstantiated charges of espionage.
Tuesday’s ruling means Gershkovich will remain in pretrial detention in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison until at least Aug. 30.
Gershkovich’s parents traveled from the United States to Moscow and were reportedly allowed to attend the closed court hearing.
Russian security agents detained Gershkovich while he was on a reporting assignment in Russia’s Ural mountains in March.
The Kremlin says the American was caught “red-handed,” but provided no evidence.
Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal vehemently reject the spying allegations — noting that Gershkovich was an accredited journalist working in Russia at the time of his detention.
The U.S. government has designated Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained” and demanded his immediate release.
This story originally appeared on NPR