Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has had a fresh appeal against his pre-trial detention on charges of espionage rejected by a Moscow court.

The US reporter denies the spying allegations, which could lead to a prison sentence of up to 20 years if he is convicted.

The 32-year-old appeared in court wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

His parents Mikhail Gershkovich and Ella Milman, who left the Soviet Union for the United States in 1979, were present to support their son.

He was arrested in March and formally charged with spying in Russia in April, and has been held at the notorious Lefortovo prison in Moscow since.

Today’s court ruling upholds an earlier judgment by a Russian court to detain him until late August.

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His lawyers had called for him to be granted bail or placed under house arrest with conditions.

He is accused by Russia’s FSB security service of collecting military secrets in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

His newspaper vehemently denies the accusation against the reporter, who was accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The US government has declared him to be wrongfully detained and has demanded his immediate release.

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