A U.S. journalist arrested by Russia last year under espionage charges will face trial, according to Russian prosecutors.

Evan Gershkovich , a 32-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was arrested and hit with the charges during a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg in March 2023. Its the first time an American journalist has been accused of espionage in Russia since the Cold War.

Both the Journal and the U.S. State Department have routinely denied the accusation that Gershkovich was secretly spying for the CIA; Russia has so far presented no evidence to back up their claims.

Nevertheless, on Thursday, the Russian prosecutor generals office said it had approved the indictment against Gershkovich, claiming that Russias Federal Security Service had established and documented evidence that the American journalist had collected secret information about a Russian tank factory.

In February, a Russian court denied Gershkovichs appeal.

It has been extraordinarily difficult to watch these proceedings play out, each one an indefensible attempt to portray Evan as something other than what he is a journalist, Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour and WSJ Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker said in a statement following Gershkovichs denied appeal.

In March, the Journal marked one year since Gershkovichs detention by publishing a blank front page.

Prosecutors did not say when Gershkovichs trial will begin. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in a Russian prison.