CNN  —  A Russian court resumed the trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich Thursday behind closed doors, according to the court’s press service. Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, first went on trial on June 26 at the Sverdlovsky Regional Court in the city of Yekaterinburg, where he appeared in a courtroom’s glass cage with his head recently shaved. Gershkovich was arrested while reporting for the Wall Street Journal, during a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg in March 2023, and later accused of spying for the CIA. Gershkovich, the US government, and the WSJ have vehemently denied the charges against him. Roger Carstens, US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, said the US Embassy in Russia planned to seek permission to attend the Thursday hearing, according to Russian state media TASS. CNN has reached out to the US Embassy in Russia.