MOSCOW—Russia charged an American citizen who is detained in Moscow with espionage and said he can be held for up to two months, Russian state media reported Thursday.
A lawyer for the detained American, Paul Whelan, asked a local court for his client to be released on bail, the official Russian news agency, TASS, quoted the lawyer as saying.
TASS, and another agency, Interfax, cited sources involved in the investigation saying that Mr. Whelan was charged and he would remain in custody until Feb. 28.
The Wall Street Journal couldn’t independently verify the reports, and Russia didn’t disclose details of the charges. Officials at the FSB press office and the Russian Foreign Ministry couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. The lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, couldn’t be reached for comment. Russian national holidays are under way through Jan. 8.
Mr. Whelan, 48, of Novi, Michigan, was detained on Dec. 28 by Russia’s main security agency while he was “carrying out spying activities,” the FSB said in a press release published on Dec. 31. The agency provided no further details.
Mr. Whelan’s family has said he was traveling in the country for a wedding and denied he was involved in espionage. The family would provide no further comments on Thursday. Mr. Whelan works as a security official at a Michigan auto supplier, but was on personal travel, his company said.
Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, visited Mr. Whelan Wednesday in the Lefortovo Detention Facility in Moscow. Also on Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. was urging Russia’s government to provide more information about why it was holding Mr. Whelan.
If convicted of spying, Mr. Whelan could face up to 20 years in jail, according to Russian law.
RIA Novosti, another official state news agency, quoted Mr. Zherebenkov as saying that the investigation of Mr. Whelan was being conducted “professionally and humanely.”
Mr. Whelan “feels fine” and was even treating the situation with humor, RIA quoted Mr. Zherebenkov as saying.
“There is no depression” and Mr. Whelan didn’t exhibit the confusion and pessimism that Mr. Zherebenkov said he typically observed in people during the first days of an arrest, RIA quoted the lawyer as saying.
Mr. Zherebenkov said he was paying special attention to explaining Mr. Whelan’s rights to him, because given the differences in the American legal system not everything was clear to Mr. Whelan, the lawyer was quoted as saying.
“He was used to the fact that the case is being considered by jurors, but in Russia espionage does not fall under the jurisdiction of the jury court,” the lawyer said, according to RIA.
The news agency said Mr. Whelan is “in quarantine in solitary confinement” at the detention facility.
Social media friends of Mr. Whelan described the American as a Russian culture enthusiast who was interested in Russian language and the country’s people.
Mr. Whelan is a former Marine and law enforcement officer. Service records released by the Marines earlier this week show that Mr. Whelan was part of the Marine Corps Reserve from 1994-2008, rising to the rank of staff sergeant, before he was reduced to the rank of private and given a bad-conduct discharge. His court-martial involved several charges related to larceny, according to the Marines.
Mr. Whelan’s arrest comes amid increasingly worsening relations between Russia and the U.S. and follows the U.S. arrest of Russian citizen Maria Butina, who last month pleaded guilty to conspiracy to influence American politics and could face as much as six months in prison.
Russian officials claim the charges against Ms. Butina are false and they view her as a political prisoner and hostage.
Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com