Russian court rejects appeal by ex-U.S. Marine held on spying charges - Ifax

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court on Tuesday ruled to keep former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan in custody facing spying charges after it rejected his appeal against the extension of his detention until late December, Interfax news agency reported.

Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained last December and accused of espionage. Moscow says he was caught red-handed, but he denies the allegations and says he was set up in a politically motivated sting.

(Reporting by Andrey Kuzmin; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alison Williams)