Evan Gershkovich in court as spy trial starts in Russia

For nearly fifteen months, Evan Gershkovich has been locked away in a Moscow jail.

Today the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter went on trial a thousand miles from the Russian capital in Yekaterinburg: the city where he was arrested on espionage charges while on a reporting trip for the Wall Street Journal.

We were among the group of media allowed into a courtroom to see him before the start of proceedings at the Sverdlovsk Regional Courthouse.

Head shaven, and wearing a check shirt and jeans, Mr Gershkovich stood in the metal and glass cage known in Russian courtrooms as "the aquarium". He smiled to cameras, but made no comment.

After a few minutes we were asked to leave the room. From this point on this trial will be held behind closed doors.

Prosecutors claim that the American journalist had been collecting classified information about a Russian tank manufacturer near Yekaterinburg on behalf of America’s Central Intelligence Agency.