The espionage case against the Wall Street Journal reporter remains opaque, and the US insists the charges are unfounded.
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00:00Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is facing trial in Russia almost a year after
00:08being arrested on espionage charges.
00:12Gershkovich appeared with a shaved head in the glass defendant's cage a few minutes before
00:17the hearing commenced behind closed doors in the country's southwest.
00:23The Kremlin arrested the 32-year-old journalist on spying allegations that he, his employer
00:29and the U.S. deny.
00:32Washington says Gershkovich was wrongfully detained with Wall Street Journal executives
00:37describing the charges as a sham.
00:41Russian authorities alleged that he was gathering information for the U.S. intelligence services
00:46while on assignment.
00:49The U.S. born son of USSR immigrants is the first Western journalist arrested for spying
00:55in post-Soviet Russia.
00:58Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison, a sentence that he will likely serve as Russia
01:04convicts 99 percent of defendants.
01:07The Kremlin, however, has not ruled out a prisoner exchange but says it is not possible
01:12before a verdict.