Moscow court denies latest appeal for WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich

WASHINGTON (TND) — The latest appeal for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been denied by a Moscow court.

It is the latest legal setback after his pretrial detention was extended twice -- once in May and again in August.

The 31-year-old was arrested on espionage charges last March in the city of Yekaterinburg while on a reporting trip in Russia.

The U.S. government has declared him wrongfully detained and the Wall Street Journal continues to deny the allegations.

Despite Russian authorities not providing any evidence to support the charges he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

In July, the Kremlin suggested that it was open to a possible prisoner exchange but underscored that such talks must be held out of the public eye.

Gershkovich will remain in jail until at least November 30, according to Russia's Tass news agency.

He is the first American reporter to face espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.

Editor's Note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.