US journalist Evan Gershkovich has appeared in court in Russia for the second hearing in his trial on espionage charges.
The Wall Street Journal reporter, his employer and the US government all deny the charges against him.
Gershkovich was accused by the Russian Prosecutor General’s office of “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a plant north of Yekaterinburg that produces and repairs tanks and other military equipment.
The trial is taking place behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)
The trial is taking place behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains where the journalist was detained while on a reporting trip in March 2023.
At the first hearing last month, the court had adjourned until mid-August.
But Gershkovich’s lawyers petitioned the court to hold the second hearing earlier, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and independent news site Mediazona reported on Tuesday, citing court officials.