The trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich has resumed behind closed doors in a Russian court, as the 32-year-old faces espionage charges that his employer and the White House have labelled a sham.

The second hearing for the trial that began on 26 June started late in the morning in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, a court spokesman told AFP, without giving any other information.

Mr Gershkovich's employer and the White House have labelled the charges against a sham. His defence team requested the trial to take place almost a month earlier than expected.

The 32-year-old became the first Western journalist in Russia to be charged with spying since the Soviet era when he was detained in March 2023 on a reporting trip to the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

He has spent almost 16 months in Russian detention and faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years if found guilty.

Russian and US officials have both said they are open to exchanging the Wall Street Journal reporter in a deal, but neither side has given clues as to when this might be.

The Russian government has provided no public evidence for the spying allegations against Mr Gershkovich, saying only that he was caught "red-handed" and was working for the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Prosecutors accuse him of spying on Russian tank maker Uralvagonzavod.

The US has said the claims are fabricated, and a United Nations expert panel declared in July that he was being held arbitrarily.

His last public appearance in court was on 26 June, when he spoke only briefly to greet journalists and his head was fully shaved.

The Russian penitentiary service refused to disclose to journalists where he would be held after the proceedings or why his hair had been cut.

'The best way he can'

The White House has warned US citizens still in Russia to 'depart immediately'

Raised in New Jersey and a fluent Russian speaker, Mr Gershkovich had reported from Russia for six years.

The journalist carried on visiting the country on work trips even after dozens of other Western reporters left in the wake of Russia's Ukraine offensive and the introduction of strict military censorship laws.

In 2017, he moved to the Russian capital to work for an English-language newspaper, The Moscow Times, where he produced some of the outlet's biggest stories.

He then worked for AFP before becoming a Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, weeks before the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine.

There has been a major campaign to release Mr Gershkovich, who spent almost 15 months in Russia's notorious Lefortovo prison following his arrest.

"He is managing the best way he can," his mother, Ella Milman, told The Wall Street Journal in March.

Russia holds other American citizens in its jails, including marine Paul Whelan, in prison for more than five years on spying charges, and US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was detained last year while visiting family.

The White House has warned US citizens still in the country to "depart immediately" due to the risk of wrongful arrest.