© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man walks out of the pre-trial detention centre Lefortovo, where U.S. journalist for the Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich is being held on espionage charges, in Moscow, Russia April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court on Thursday rejected U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against his pre-trial detention on charges of espionage that he denies, a Reuters reporter at the court said. Gershkovich, 31, was arrested in March and accused by the FSB security service of collecting military secrets in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. The United States says he was wrongfully detained and is demanding his release.