Journalist Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years for espionage
An American journalist for The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, was sentenced on Friday to 16 years in prison. Reuters reported that the Russian court found him guilty of espionage. The reporter claims he is innocent.
The prosecution had demanded 18 years in prison for the reporter, a sentence just two years short of the maximum penalty under Russian law for espionage.
The indictment claimed that the journalist "in March 2023 collected classified information on behalf of the CIA about production at the Uralvagonzavod facilities and the repair of military equipment" in Yekaterinburg, about 1,500 kilometres east of Moscow. He was also accused of "acting illegally, using conspiratorial methods."
"This disgraceful, false verdict was delivered after Evan spent 478 days in jail, unlawfully detained away from family and friends, deprived of contact with them, all for performing his journalistic duties," reads a statement published by The Wall Street Journal. "Journalism is not a crime," it added. It was noted that the journalist was performing normal professional duties as a correspondent formally registered by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The conviction of Gershkovich was condemned by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which called for the immediate reversal of the verdict. "Journalists are not spies, and conflating journalism with espionage has extremely dangerous consequences for press freedom. Targeting Evan Gershkovich is another blatant example of Russia's unacceptable hostage-taking," stated RSF director Rebecca Vincent.
Gershkovich sentenced. Will the American be exchanged?
Evan Gershkovich, the 32-year-old son of immigrants from the USSR, is the first American journalist to be arrested and sentenced on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.
The Kremlin, asked by Reuters on Friday about the possibility of such an exchange, declined to comment. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously stated that a potential exchange of the journalist could be considered only after a verdict was reached in his case.
In June, the US Embassy in Russia called for the "immediate" release of Gershkovich, as well as Paul Whelan, a former Marine who was also arrested on espionage charges in Moscow in 2018 and is serving a 16-year prison sentence.
