The U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne M. Tracy, met with the detained Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow on Monday, in accordance with the State Department.

It was the primary time since April 17 that an American diplomatic official had been in a position to meet with Mr. Gershkovich, who has been held for greater than 13 weeks on what American officers have stated are bogus allegations of espionage.

Ms. Tracy reported that Mr. Gershkovich was in “good health” and remained “strong, despite his circumstances.” Mr. Gershkovich, 31, has been held since late March at Lefortovo, a high-security jail recognized for tough situations for inmates, together with excessive isolation.

The Russian authorities’s allegations in opposition to Mr. Gershkovich have been vehemently rejected by the United States authorities and The Journal. The State Department reiterated on Monday that Mr. Gershkovich had been “wrongfully detained” — that means that the U.S. government considers him to be the equivalent of a political hostage.

American officers repeated their name for Russia to right away release Mr. Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, 53, a former U.S. Marine that the U.S. authorities additionally considers wrongfully detained. He is serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted in 2020 of spying.

Based in Russia for nearly six years, Mr. Gershkovich was first detained on March 29 throughout a reporting journey to the central Russian metropolis of Yekaterinburg. Thursday could be his one centesimal day in detention.

If convicted on the espionage costs, for which Russian prosecutors have provided no proof, Mr. Gershkovich might face 20 years in a penal colony.

In June, a Moscow court docket denied an appeal by the journalist’s lawyers to end his pretrial detention, which had been extended to Aug. 30. Mrs. Tracy attended that court docket session, together with Mr. Gershkovich’s dad and mom, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich.