US journalist appears in court in Russia for second hearing on espionage charges that he denies

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has appeared in court in Russia for the second hearing in his trial on espionage charges. Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently 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, a city in the Ural Mountains where the journalist was detained while on a reporting trip in March 2023.