Russian media say the journalist denied the espionage charge and said he was involved in journalistic activities.
Russia has formally charged detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage, Russian news agencies said.
The state-run TASS news agency reported on Friday that the American journalist denied the charges.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said on March 30 it had detained Gershkovich in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and opened an espionage case against the 31-year-old for collecting what it said were state secrets about the military-industrial complex.
“FSB investigators accused Gershkovich of espionage in the interest of his country,” TASS said, citing a law enforcement source.
“He categorically denied all allegations and stated that he was involved in journalistic activities in Russia,” it added.
Another Russian news agency, Interfax, also reported the development, citing an unidentified source.
The WSJ has denied that Gershkovich was spying and demanded the immediate release of his “trusted and devoted reporter”.
The US has urged Russia to release Gershkovich and ridicule Russian claims of espionage.
The White House said on Thursday that Russia’s refusal to grant Gershkovich consular access was “inexcusable.”
“We need to get consular access to Evan,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
‘Pointless’ pressure
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on the same day that it was “futile” to put pressure on Moscow over its case against Gershkovich.
“The hype around this case, which is being fanned in the United States, with the aim of putting pressure on the Russian authorities and the court… is pointless and pointless,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, according to a statement to U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy.
“He was caught red-handed trying to obtain classified information, using his journalistic status as a cover for illegal actions, which qualifies as espionage,” the statement said.
Yekaterinburg, where Gershkovich was held, is located about 1800 km east of Moscow. He was then transferred to the capital and held until May 29 awaiting trial.
The arrest of the journalist has sparked outrage in the West and is seen as a serious escalation of Moscow’s crackdown on the media.