YEKATERINBURG, July 16. /TASS/. The Sverdlovsk regional court has moved the hearing of the case of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, from August 13 to July 18 at his lawyers' request, the court's press service told TASS.

"The defense filed a motion to move the hearing up to July 18. The court granted the defense's request," the press service added.

The session was not open to the media, so why Gershkovich's lawyers asked to move the date is not known.

The first hearing on Gershkovich’s espionage case was held in the Sverdlovsk Regional Court on June 26, also behind closed doors.

Gershkovich, who was in Russia as a WSJ correspondent, was detained in Yekaterinburg in late March 2023 and charged with espionage. According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the journalist was trying to obtain secret information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex. Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison. He does not admit his guilt.