A Moscow court on Tuesday upheld the detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who appeared before a judge in his first public sighting since he was taken into custody on espionage charges during a reporting trip late last month.

Gershkovich’s challenge to his pre-trial detention was rejected by the Russian judge, meaning he will be held at the notorious Lefortovo Prison until at least May 29.

The 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter appeared to be calm, wearing jeans and a button-up while standing with his arms crossed over his chest inside a glass detention box.

His lawyers suggested he be freed on bail of 50 million roubles ($614,000) or placed under house arrest. Both requests were denied by the court.

Gershkovich and his employer have forcefully denied the allegations behind his arrest, and the US government last week classified his detention as “wrongful.”

Before the hearing began, a Russian reporter in the courtroom told Gershkovich to “Stay strong!” and relayed to him that everyone said “Hi.”

When asked by the judge if he needed translation, Gershkovich said no and that he understood everything.

Gershkovich, a US national whose parents emigrated from the Soviet Union, has reported on Russia for six years at various publications including the Wall Street Journal, Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times.

During his court appearance, Gershkovich paced inside the clear detention box and stood near Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Moscow who he had met with for the first time the day before in prison.

“He’s in good health and remains strong,” Tracy said after their meeting. “We reiterate our call for his immediate release.”

His attorney, Tatiana Nozhkina, told reporters Gershkovich was reading Russian literature and is “in a combative mood, denies he is guilty, and is ready to prove it.”

Gershkovich was arrested in March while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused the journalist of acting at the behest of the US and collecting information about a military facility.

Russia has not provided evidence to support the claim, but insisted Gershkovich, the first American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, was caught “red-handed.”

The US hostage envoy has committed to do “whatever it takes” to bring home Gershkovich as well as Paul Whelan, an American ex-Marine who was convicted of espionage in 2020 and has also been designated as wrongfully detained.

With Post wires