Moscow, 26 June 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned for more than a year for alleged espionage, is due to begin in Russia on Wednesday.

The trial of the correspondent for the Wall Street Journal newspaper is scheduled to take place in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals. The 32-year-old reporter denied the charges during questioning.

A spokesman for the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said that according to the investigation, Gershkovich had collected secret information on behalf of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Specifically, the case concerns the production and repair of defence equipment at the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil, which lies to the north of Yekaterinburg.

Gershkovich has acted illegally according to all the rules of conspiracy, the prosecutor's office said.

The US government reacted to the unproven accusations with clear words. "There's absolutely zero credibility to those charges," said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in Washington.

Gershkovich was detained at the end of March 2023 while on a research trip in Yekaterinburg.

Many media outlets have called for his release. US President Joe Biden promised to stand up for him.

The trial in Yekaterinburg, a two-and-a-half hour flight east of Moscow, is likely to make it even more difficult to observe the proceedings.

According to the Kremlin, talks are under way regarding an exchange of prisoners for Gershkovich. The detention of US citizens in Russia often leads to complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington about a release or exchange.

Despite tense US-Russian relations, prisoner exchanges have repeatedly taken place in the past.