The trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia for more than a year for alleged espionage, began on Wednesday, in a case decried as a sham by his supporters, employer and the US government.
The high-profile trial of the correspondent for the Wall Street Journal newspaper is taking place in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals. The 32-year-old reporter denies the charges.
Images from the courtroom showed Gershkovich, wearing jeans and a button-down shirt, standing in a glass cage.
Gershkovich was detained at the end of March 2023 while on a research trip in Yekaterinburg.
A spokesman for the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said that an investigation found Gershkovich had collected secret information on behalf of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Specifically, Russia alleges he collected information on the production and repair of defence equipment at the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil, which lies to the north of Yekaterinburg.
"There's absolutely zero credibility to those charges," said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in Washington earlier this month.
Many media outlets have called for his release. US President Joe Biden has promised to fight for his freedom.
According to the Kremlin, talks are under way regarding an exchange of prisoners for Gershkovich. The detention of US citizens in Russia often leads to complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington about a release or exchange.
Despite tense US-Russian relations, prisoner exchanges have repeatedly taken place in the past.
