Russian court rejects US reporter's appeal

Moscow: A Moscow court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from US journalist Evan Gershkovich to be freed from pre-trial detention, meaning he will stay in a former KGB prison until at least May 29 while a spying case against him is investigated.

Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, denies the espionage charges. He looked calm and smiled as he stood in a glass and metal cage before the ruling, wearing a checked shirt, with his arms folded. His legal team had asked that he be freed on bail of $614,000 supplied by his publisher Dow Jones or placed under house arrest, his lawyer Tatiana Nozhkina said. "He's in a combative mood," Nozhkina told reporters outside the court. "He is ready to defend himself and to show that he is innocent."

A masked man with "FSB" written on his black uniform stood beside the cage as the judge rejected the appeal.