CNN  —  A verdict is expected in the coming hours in the espionage case of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, with Russian prosecutors seeking an 18-year prison sentence in what his employer and the US government have dismissed as a sham trial. The court in Yekaterinburg will announce the verdict on Friday at 5 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), the court’s press service has said. Proceedings have reached the final stage, the Sverdlovsk regional court added. Earlier Friday, the court heard closing arguments and Gershkovich delivered his closing remarks behind closed doors. The judge then retired to the deliberation room to consider the verdict. The state prosecution service has requested 18 years in prison for Gershkovich, according to state news agency TASS, citing the court. Gershkovich pleaded not guilty, TASS added. The trial resumed on Thursday after being brought forward at the request of his defense. Gershkovich was arrested while reporting for the WSJ, during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg in March 2023, and later accused of spying for the CIA, making him the first American journalist to be detained on such an allegation since the Cold War. Gershkovich, the US government and the WSJ have vehemently denied the charges against him.