Moscow:

Imprisoned American journalist Evan Gershkovich’s pretrial detention will last until at least March 30, a Moscow court said on Tuesday, rejecting the latest appeal by his legal team.

Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich was arrested last March while reporting in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg and subsequently charged with espionage, charges he, his employer and the White House deny.

The Moscow court issued a statement after the hearing on Tuesday saying that “Geshkovitch will continue to be detained until March 30, 2024.”

The appeal was a technical hearing against a previous ruling extending Gershkovic’s pretrial detention and had nothing to do with the substance of the case.

The United States has lashed out at the Kremlin over his arrest and continued detention.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, who attended the hearing, said on Tuesday that “the accusations against Evan are baseless. The Russian government locked up Evan simply for reporting the news.”

The decision means Gershkovic will be jailed for at least a year after his shock arrest on March 29, 2023, the first time Russia has arrested a Western journalist on espionage charges since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that he wanted to see Gershkovic released as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, where negotiations are ongoing.

Speaking to US conservative TV commentator Tucker Carlson, the Russian leader said he wanted to see a Russian imprisoned in Germany as part of the deal for killing a Chechen dissident Released.

Washington has deemed Gershkovic a “wrongfully detained” and accused Moscow of arresting U.S. citizens on baseless charges and using them as “bargaining chips” to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)