US journalist Evan Gershkovich appears at closed-door trial in Russia

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg on June 26, 2024. Credit: AP

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has appeared at a closed-door trial in Russia on espionage charges.

Mr Gershkovich, 32, was arrested 15 months ago when he was on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city. He is the first Western journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia.

The 32-year-old appeared in the courtroom on Wednesday morning in a glass cage, with his head shaven clean and wearing a black-and-blue plaid shirt.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if the court finds him guilty.

The Russian authorities claimed he was gathering secret information for the US intelligence. Mr Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the US government vigorously deny the allegations.

After his arrest on March 29, 2023, Mr Gershkovich was held in Moscow's Lefortovo Prison. He has appeared healthy during court hearings in which his appeals for release have been rejected.

Russian courts convict more than 99% of the defendants who come before them. Prosecutors can appeal sentences that they regard as too lenient and even can appeal acquittals.

Mr Gershkovich's arrest came about a year after President Vladimir Putin pushed through laws that criminalised press criticism of the war in Ukraine and making statements seen as discrediting the military.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, right, is escorted from court in Moscow, Russia, in January 2024. Credit: AP

There have been accusations that Russia is targeting Americans as animosity between Moscow and Washington grew.

With Mr Gerhkovich's trial being closed, few details of his case may become public. But the Russian Prosecutor General's office said this month that he is accused of “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a plant about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Yekaterinburg that produces and repairs tanks and other military equipment.

Russia has not ruled out a prisoner exchange involving Mr Gershkovich but says that's not possible before a verdict in his case.

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