US reporter Gershkovich to go on trial in Russia on June 26

The trial in Russia of US journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges will start on June 26, a court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg said Monday.

The trial "will take place behind closed doors. The first hearing is set for June 26, 2024", the Sverdlovsk regional court, which is overseeing the process, said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg and has been held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison since.

Last week, Russia's prosecutor general accused him of working for the CIA and "collecting secret information" about tank maker Uralvagonzavod in the Sverdlovsk region where he was arrested.

The United States said the charges had "zero credibility" and the Wall Street Journal slammed Russia's announcement as "outrageous".

"Evan Gershkovich is facing a false and baseless charge. Russia's latest move toward a sham trial is, while expected, deeply disappointing and still no less outrageous," the Journal's chief editor Emma Tucker and top executives said in a statement.

Moscow had not previously provided any public details of its case against Gershkovich, saying only that he was "caught red-handed".

Gershkovich became the first Western journalist since the Soviet era to be arrested for spying in Russia when he was detained.

The 32-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.