The trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on a charge of spying for the U.S. government continued behind closed doors in a Russian court on Thursday, a court spokeswoman said.

Witnesses were being heard, she said.

Journalists attending the trial in Yekaterinburg, 1,800 kilometres east of Moscow, and a British diplomat and other observers had to wait in a separate room in the court building.

The trial was originally to have continued on August 13, but the court said the date had been brought forward at the request of the defence.

The 32-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in March 2023.

He is accused of gathering information on the Uralvagonzavod defence equipment factory in Nizhny Tagil, 130 kilometres north of Yekaterinburg, on behalf of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

According to Russian media reports, Mr Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison. He, his newspaper and the U.S. government have denied the charges.

Speaking in New York earlier on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was incontrovertible evidence that Gershkovich had been spying.

According to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency, he did not provide details.

Mr Lavrov confirmed contacts between the Russian and U.S. intelligence services regarding a possible prisoner swap.

Moscow is currently holding several U.S. and other citizens on charges that are seen in their home countries as pretexts.

Mr Gershkovich’s arrest is also being seen as a warning to foreign correspondents still working in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

(dpa/NAN)