Ivan Garshkovich's trial will be behind closed doors, Russian court says – BBC News

The trial of US journalist Ivan Garshkovich will be held behind closed doors, Russian state media quoted the Court Service as saying.

Russian officials have accused a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter of collecting “secret information” from a Russian tank factory for the CIA. He denied the allegations.

His trial will begin on June 26 in Yekaterinburg, the Urals city where he was arrested last March.

Mr Gershkovich, 32, has since been held in Moscow's high-security Lefortovo prison.

The WSJ rejected the prosecution as a “fraud”, while US officials said the allegations had “zero credibility”.

Russian prosecutors said Mr Gershkovich had been caught “red-handed”, with the FSB state spy service claiming he was trying to obtain military secrets.

Prosecutors added that an investigation found the reporter had collected “secret information” about the “production and repair of military equipment” from a tank factory.

In a statement, they accused him of “conducting illegal activities using elaborate conspiratorial methods at the behest of the CIA.”

Mr. Gershkovich spent more than a year in prison on espionage charges that carry up to 20 years in prison.

US President Joe Biden called Russia's move “absolutely illegal” and the WSJ accused Moscow of “stockpiling Americans in Russian prisons to be able to trade them at a later date”.

Russia is holding several US citizens in prisons around the country, including several journalists and active duty military members.

A Kremlin spokesman said the United States had been “in touch” about a possible prisoner exchange, but would not comment further.

Dmitry Peskov said Mr Gershkovich's trial would be held behind closed doors, saying he could not comment as it was a court decision.

Mr. Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the end of the Cold War more than three decades ago.

President Vladimir Putin appeared to confirm this during an interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this year.