Russian court extends detention of ex-U.S. marine Whelan to end-October - Ifax

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Moscow court extended the pre-trial detention of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who Russia accuses of spying, until the end of October, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday.

Whelan, who was detained in Moscow in December, has denied the charges and said that the case against him is politically motivated.

If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in jail. Earlier on Friday, Whelan said that prison authorities in Moscow had physically hurt him.

(Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva; editing by John Stonestreet)