A Moscow court has shot down an appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich challenging a decision to extend his pre-trial detention. Gershkovich, 31, was arrested almost six months ago in Russia on spying charges. Russian officials accused him of collecting state secrets about the military. He – along with the Wall Street Journal and the US government – denies these allegations. The decision to extend his pre-trial detention had been made in August. Last week, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Gershkovich’s family called for his immediate release from Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. The Moscow city court on Tuesday upheld its initial ruling. A judge in Lefortovo Court in Moscow extended the journalist’s pre-trial detention until 30 November. The hearing was held behind closed doors. The WSJ journalist will remain in jail until then, reported Russia’s Tass news agency. “The Moscow City Court considered the lawyers’ complaint in a closed court session and decided to remove the material regarding E Gershkovich from appeal consideration, and send the material to the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow to eliminate the circumstances impeding the consideration of the criminal case in the appellate court,” the court said in a statement. It remains unclear why the court refused to consider Gershkovich’s appeal. The case is expected to be returned to a lower court. The 31-year-old American citizen had been granted accreditation by Russia’s foreign ministry to work there as a journalist. He was arrested by agents of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor agency to the KGB, during a reporting assignment in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on 29 March this year. This is the first instance of a Western journalist being arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the end of the Cold War. If Gershkovich gets convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. According to Russian law, people found guilty of espionage can potentially receive a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. US envoy to Russia Lynne Tracy, who was present in the courtroom on Tuesday, told the media: “The US position remains unwavering. The charges against Evan are baseless. The Russian government locked Evan up for simply doing his job. Journalism is not a crime.” “Evan is fully aware of the gravity of his situation, yet he remains remarkably strong,” she said. To mark Gershkovich’s 100 days in jail since July this year, the White House press secretary said: “The world knows that the charges against Evan are baseless – he was arrested in Russia during the course of simply doing his job as a journalist, and he is being held by Russia for leverage because he is an American.” After visiting the journalist in prison, Ms Thomas-Greenfield said: “No family should have to watch their loved one being used as a political pawn. And that’s exactly what President [Vladimir] Putin is doing. Russia’s actions are beyond cruel, and they are a violation of international law.” US president Joe Biden said in July that he was “serious on a prisoner exchange”. “And I’m serious about doing all we can to free Americans being illegally held in Russia, or anywhere else for that matter, and that process is underway,” he said. “President [Joe] Biden spoke to us and gave us a promise to do whatever it takes” to bring Gershkovich home, his parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, said in a July interview with ABC News. “He told us he understands our pain,” said Ms Milman, the mother of the WSJ journalist. In a letter earlier this month to the UN’s working group on arbitrary detention, lawyers for the WSJ’s publisher accused Mr Putin of using Gershkovich as a pawn and of “holding him hostage.” The lawyers argue that Mr Putin wants to use Gershkovich “to gain leverage over – and extract a ransom from – the United States, just as he has done with other American citizens whom he has wrongfully detained”. The letter said Gershkovich’s ongoing detention “is a flagrant violation of many of his fundamental human rights”. In June this year, nearly three dozen US senators wrote a letter to Gershkovich expressing their “profound anger and concern” over his detention in the Russian prison. The letter said a “free press is crucial to the foundation and support of human rights everywhere” and that every day he spends in a Russian prison “is a day too long”. “We applaud you for your efforts to report the truth about Russia’s reprehensible invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that has resulted in untellable atrocities, tragedies, and loss of life,” the letter read. It said the senators “understand the enormous burden you may feel as the Russian government uses you as a political tool”. Read More U.S. ambassador to Russia visits jailed WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich Father of imprisoned reporter Evan Gershkovich calls on world leaders to urge Russia to free him A new Iran deal shows the Biden administration is willing to pay a big price to free Americans The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

The Premier League have hit back at Andy Burnham’s claims that they are guilty of “regulatory malpractice” and “abuse of process” by deducting Everton 10 points, insisting that they “entirely refuted his allegations.” Burnham – the mayor of Greater Manchester and an Everton season-ticket holder – last week wrote an open letter to Premier League chair Alison Brittain in which he said there had not been a fair process when enforcing the deduction. Everton were deemed to have breached Profit and Sustainability Rules by an independent commission, which determined they had losses of £124.5m over three years – £19.5m over the permitted threshold. But Burnham, a former Secretary of State for Health, was critical of the Premier League for adopting a sanctions policy in August, after Everton had been charged and before their case was heard. “The fact that the Premier League sought to introduce a new sanctions policy in the middle of this process amounts, in my view, to an abuse of process,” he wrote. “It could be argued that the Premier League handing a new penalty regime to the commission in this way is akin to the Government handing new sentencing guidelines to a judge in the middle of a trial. Any right-minded person would see that as an inappropriate attempt to influence the process.” However, The Telegraph and The Daily Mirror are reporting that Brittain has written a three-page letter in response to Burnham that lays out the organisation’s process around the decision and refutes all allegations of impropriety. She explained that the Premier League do not have a set sanction in place because a fixed penalty would hinder the ability of the independent panel to display any discretion or take mitigating circumstances into consideration. And she claims that having no fixed sanction actually provided a greater threat. Brittain went on to say that a commission hearing a case independently invites submissions from both sides on appropriate sanctions and added that Premier League clubs were asked about the potential introduction of a fixed set of sanctions in 2020 but the consensus feedback among the 20 at the time – Everton included – was not to impose any. The two major offences for which the Premier League does have fixed sanctions are a nine-point deduction for clubs entering administration and a 30-point deduction for clubs seeking to join an unsanctioned competition – a la the European Super League plans in 2021. Brittain also detailed that the Premier League worked closely with Everton during the period of the club’s breach and that they ignored clear warnings over their spending, opting not to stop buying players that put them in breach of profit and sustainability rules. Burnham insisted that his open letter was in his capacity as an Everton season-ticket holder, rather than a politician, while he has also claimed that Sky Sports pulled an interview with him ahead of the Toffees’ clash with Manchester United on Sunday. Sky responded to that complaint by insisting they have presented a balanced view of the situation throughout and the Premier League confirmed they have not requested any interview to be pulled. Everton have announced plans to appeal against the 10-point deduction and wider verdict, which they have called “wholly unjust”. Read More Defender Manuel Akanji admits Man City made ‘a lot of mistakes’ against Leipzig Rodrigo Bentancur set to be out until February after tearing an ankle ligament Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink wants aspiring black managers to get ‘a fair chance’ Former Sheffield United and Everton defender Phil Jagielka announces retirement VAR costing ‘livelihoods and reputations’ fumes Wolves boss after latest problems What is VAR, how does it work and what are the biggest problems?

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Chelsea secured back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since March after coming from behind to thrash Burnley 4-1 on Saturday. Looking to end a run of four successive home defeats on their return to the top flight this season, promoted Burnley raced into a 15th-minute lead, Wilson Odobert scoring his first goal in English football to stun the visitors. Chelsea offered little in response until Ameen Al Dakhil put through his own net in the most unfortunate circumstances three minutes before the break to get Mauricio Pochettino’s team back level. The visitors completed the turnaround early in the second half, Cole Palmer converting from the spot after Raheem Sterling had been fouled in the penalty area. A fine Sterling goal and a fourth from substitute Nicolas Jackson put the game beyond the hosts, lifting Chelsea to ninth in the standings, with Burnley remaining in the relegation zone with only one win this season.

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