US journalist Evan Gershkovich in court as spy trial starts in Russia | BBC News

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

The US journalist went on trial on Tuesday, in Yekaterinburg - the Russian city where he was arrested on espionage charges while on a reporting trip for the Wall Street Journal.

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.

Mr Gershkovich, his employer and the US government vehemently reject the charge. If convicted the maximum possible sentence is twenty years in prison.