A Russian court extended the detention of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Ivan Gurshkovich by three months and ordered the American citizen to be detained until August 30.
Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges while reporting in Russia in March and formally detained in April. The US government denied these allegations.
Moscow has said the sensitivity of the espionage charges means the trial must be held in private and court documents are not being made public.
Russian officials have not detailed what evidence they have collected to support the espionage allegations.
The trial was not announced in advance and the entire case has been kept secret.
At the preliminary hearing, the 31-year-old American journalist told the court that he is not guilty. The Wall Street general has vehemently denied the allegations against his journalist and demanded his immediate release.
The Wall Street General said that the arrested journalist is a sincere and reliable colleague, the organization expresses solidarity with the journalist and his family in this difficult time.
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