A Moscow court again extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been held in Russian custody on espionage charges for nearly a year.
The March 26 ruling by the Moscow City Court was held behind closed doors, due to the presence of what the court said were classified documents.
The court extended his detention at least until June 30.
The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have vehemently rejected the charges, saying Gershkovich was merely doing his job as an accredited reporter when he was arrested in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.
"This verdict to further prolong Evan’s detention feels particularly painful, as this week marks one year since Evan was arrested and wrongfully detained in Yekaterinburg simply for doing his job as a journalist," U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy said in a statement.
Gershkovich's case "is about using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends," she said.
Gershkovich is one of two American reporters currently being held by Russian authorities.
Alsu Kurmasheva, an RFE/RL journalist who holds dual Russian-American citizenship, was arrested in Kazan last October and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent under a punitive Russian law that targets journalists, civil society activists, and others. She’s also been charged with spreading falsehoods about the Russian military, and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Prior to her arrest, Kurmasheva had her passport confiscated as she went to leave Russia following a visit because of a family emergency in her native Tatarstan.
SEE ALSO: 'It's All Becoming Less Bearable': RFE/RL Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva Marks 100 Days In Russian CustodyRFE/RL and the U.S. government say the charges against her are reprisals for her work.
Another U.S. citizen being held by Russian officials is Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine and corporate security executive who is serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges.
Gershkovich and Whelan have been designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S. government, a designation that provides more dedicated resources in the effort to secure their release.
Kurmasheva, however, has not been designated as wrongfully detained, despite pleas from RFE/RL and from Kurmasheva’s family.
Moscow has been accused of detaining Americans to use as bargaining chips to exchange for Russians jailed in the United States.