Evan Gershkovich is the first Western journalist arrested in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War. Today his trial began.

Evan is 32 years old and a reporter for the Wall Street Journal based at the new outlet's Moscow bureau. He received permission to work as a reporter in Russia. Nonetheless, 16 months ago he was detained in Yekaterinburg, about 900 miles east of Moscow, by the Federal Security Service, or FSB, while on a work assignment. 

It is described as a secret trial because trials are held behind closed doors. Evan will not have the legal protections he would have in the United States and other Western countries. His family and others were not allowed to stay in the courtroom. 

He faces 20 years in prison if convicted. Russian courts convict 99% of those who go on trial. His fellow journalists are doing interviews today to keep Evan's story in the press. They all say that it is expected that Evan will be found guilty. 

Evan, the Wall Street Journal, and the U.S. government insist that the accusations against Evan are false. He is not a spy, he is a reporter. The State Department designated him as "wrongfully detained" months ago and called for his immediate release. The wrongfully detained designation is important because it allows the State Department to pursue his release using more diplomatic tools in the tool bag. 

One startling development seen today is that Evan's head has been shaved. I imagine this is to project a prisoner-like appearance, a psychological move. During court proceedings, he stands in a glass box cage secured with a padlock. 

Gershkovich, dressed in jeans and an open-collared plaid shirt, smiled and at one point waved, before journalists were escorted from the room.

Wednesday’s hearing appeared to last more than two hours. Afterwards the prosecutor, Mikael Ozdoev, dressed in a blue, military-style uniform, made a brief statement, saying the case against Gershkovich had begun, and alleging he “performed illegal actions in secret.”

The Russian state news agency, TASS, reported that Evan's next hearing is scheduled for August 13. This trial is being dragged out as long as possible, creating a bargaining chip for a prisoner swap of Putin's choosing. 

The Kremlin spokesman declined to comment, only saying it was necessary “to wait for the verdict that will be made.”

On Tuesday the WSJ editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, published a letter to readers that called Russian judicial proceedings “unfair to Evan and a continuation of this travesty of justice that already has gone on for far too long.”

Tucker said, “This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man.”

Let us be very clear, once again: Evan is a staff reporter of The Wall Street Journal. He was on assignment in Russia, where he was an accredited journalist.

But the Kremlin has clamped down severely on independent reporting, effectively turning journalism into a crime. Evan was seized by Russia’s security services, falsely accused of being a U.S. spy and thrown in prison.

When his case comes before a judge this week, it will not be a trial as we understand it, with a presumption of innocence and a search for the truth.

Rather, it will be held in secret. No evidence has been unveiled. And we already know the conclusion: This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man who would then face up to 20 years in prison for simply doing his job. And an excellent job he was doing, at that.

Even covering the case presents challenges to us and other news organizations over how to report responsibly on the proceedings and the allegations.

Evidence has not been publicly presented by Russian investigators to back up their allegations against Evan. Acquittals in espionage cases in Russia are very rare.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow released a statement.

“We have been clear from the start that Evan has done nothing wrong and never should have been arrested in the first place,” the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said in a statement Wednesday. “His case is not about evidence, procedural norms, or the rule of law. It is about the Kremlin using American citizens to achieve its political objectives.”

Now we wait for Evan's next court appearance which will not be until August.