Wall Street Journal reporter accused of espionage in Russia appears in court to be told he will be held in Moscow jail for at least another two months as he awaits trial

The American reporter jailed in Moscow on espionage charges a month after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will spend at least two more months behind bars after a court extended his pre-trial detention on Friday.

US Consul General Stuart Wilson attended the hearing, which took place behind closed doors as authorities say details of the criminal case against the US journalist are classified.

In a video shared by state news agency Ria Novosti, Evan Gershkovich was shown listening to the verdict while standing in a court cage, wearing a hoodie and light blue jeans.

A short time later, he was photographed appearing to smile and joke with guards as he was walked to a prison van to leave the court.

Gershkovich, 32, was locked up in March during a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometers east of Moscow.

Russia’s Federal Security Service claimed that the reporter, “acting on behalf of the US side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”

Gershkovich puts on a brave face as he laughs with guards, right, being escorted from the Lefortovsky Court in Moscow, Russia

Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained on espionage charges, will remain in prison until the end of March, Russian state news agencies reported

Gershkovich and the Journal deny the allegations, and the U.S. government has said he was wrongfully detained. Russian authorities have not provided any evidence to support the espionage allegations.

At his year-end press conference in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is in dialogue with the United States about bringing both Gershkovich and the captured Americans home. Paul Whelanand that the Kremlin hopes to “find a solution,” even if “it is not easy.”

Putin was responding to a question about an offer the Biden administration had made to secure the release of the two men. The US Department of State reported it in December, without providing detailsand said Russia rejected it.

‘We are in contact with our American partners about this, a dialogue is taking place on this issue. It’s not easy, I won’t go into details now. But in general it seems to me that we speak a language that each of us understands,” Putin said.

“I hope we will find a solution,” he continued. “But I repeat: the American side must hear us and make a decision that will also satisfy the Russian side.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it will only consider a trade for Gershkovich after a ruling in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last more than a year.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be accused of espionage in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Gershkovich is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, notorious for its harsh conditions.

Analysts have said Moscow could use captured Americans as a bargaining chip after U.S.-Russian tensions soared when Russia sent troops to Ukraine.

At least two American citizens have been arrested in Russia in recent years WNBA star Brittney Grinerhave been exchanged for Russians imprisoned in the US