A Russian court sentenced Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison on espionage charges. This case of US reporter jailed has drawn international attention and concern.
The guilty verdict came Friday hours after closing arguments in what many in the U.S. have called a baseless trial. #USReporterJailed
“This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist,” Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said in a statement Friday.
“We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family,” they said. “Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now.”
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old American, went on trial last month in the city of Yekaterinburg.
Russian prosecutors had accused him of gathering secret information on behalf of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and asked for an 18-year sentence. He was the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War. #USReporterJailed
Gershkovich, his employer and the US government deny the charges and say the reporter was just doing his job as a journalist.
“This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man,” Tucker had written in a letter last month, ahead of the conviction.
Espionage cases usually take months, but the US reporter jailed faced an unusually swift trial behind closed doors. Speculation grows that this speed hints at a potential U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange involving him and other detained Americans.
