U.S. Reporter Evan Gershkovich's Appeal Against Pre-Trial Detention Rejected in Moscow Court

The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested last month and has been accused by Russian authorities of gathering state secrets for the U.S. government

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appeared in court in Russia on Tuesday at an appeal hearing against his arrest and detention at Moscow's Lefortovo prison.

According to BBC News, the Russian court rejected the appeal against his pre-trial detention.

The journalist's appearance in court was to determine whether he will still be held in pre-trial detention at the prison until at least May 29, according to Sky News.

Gershkovich previously filed a complaint against the decision to keep him in custody while the case is being investigated, per The Guardian.

Gershkovich was arrested in Russia late last month and was accused by Russian authorities of spying and gathering state secrets for the U.S. government.

Related: Wall Street Journal Reporter Detained in Russia on Spying Charges

In footage posted on The Guardian's website from the hearing, Gershkovich was seen standing in a glass and metal structure in the courtroom.

According to the outlet, the 31-year-old U.S. citizen — who wore a navy plaid shirt and had his arms folded — did not say anything while being filmed.

He was joined in the court by his lawyer and US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, according to the BBC. The outlet reports that Tracy said outside the court after the hearing that she had been given access to Gershkovich for the first time on Monday and that he was in "good health and remains strong despite the circumstances".

"The charges against Evan are baseless and we call on the Russian Federation to immediately release him," she said.

Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg last month for what Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed was "espionage in the interests of the American government." If convicted, the charge has a maximum jail term of 20 years.

RELATED VIDEO: President Biden Says Administration Is "Not Giving Up" on Bringing Paul Whelan Home After Griner's Release

In a statement to Russian state media, FSB claimed, "It has been established that E. Gershkovich, acting on an assignment from the American side, was gathering information classified as a state secret about the activity of one of the enterprises of Russia's military-industrial complex."

Gershkovich's employer the WSJ released a statement in support of the journalist following his arrest and denied the allegations against him.

It read, "The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family."

Reporters Without Borders criticized the incident on Twitter on March 30 and said it was "alarmed by what seems to be a 'retaliatory' measure: journalists must not be targeted!" and claimed Gershkovich was currently investigating the Wagner Group, an infamous Russian mercenary organization.

Related: Brittney Griner Speaks Out in Support of U.S. Reporter Detained in Russia on Spying Charges

In January, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated the Wagner Group as a Transnational Criminal Organization, saying its leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin is "a [Vladimir] Putin crony and the target of multiple U.S. sanctions" according to a press release on its website.

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted a message on her Telegram channel, which when translated from Russian to English claimed, "What an employee of the American edition of The Wall Street Journal was doing in Yekaterinburg has nothing to do with journalism."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Gershkovich "was caught red-handed," per Russian state media.

According to Gershkovich's author page on the WSJ website, he has worked as a reporter in Russia since 2017. He has also previously worked at The New York Times, Agence France-Presse and Moscow Times.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.