- Author, Matt Murphy
- Role, BBC News
American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been convicted of espionage by a Russian court and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, following a secret trial denounced as a “sham” by his employer, his family and the White House.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist was first arrested in March while traveling in the city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow, by security services.
Prosecutors accuse him of working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), charges that Gershkovich, the WSJ and the United States vehemently deny.
It is the first conviction of an American journalist for spying in Russia since the end of the Cold War more than 30 years ago.
Both sides in the trial have 15 days to appeal the verdict, the judge said.
“This shameful and sham conviction comes after Evan spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, and prevented from doing his job as a journalist,” Wall Street Journal publisher Almar Latour and executive editor Emma Tucker said in a statement.
“We will continue to do everything we can to secure Evan’s release and support his family.
“Journalism is not a crime and we will not rest until it is freed. This must stop immediately.”
Western politicians have strongly condemned the verdict. US President Joe Biden said Mr Gershkovich had “committed no crime” and was “targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American”.
“Evan endured his ordeal with remarkable strength,” Biden added. “Journalism is not a crime. We will continue to stand firmly for press freedom in Russia and around the world, and stand against anyone who seeks to attack the press or target journalists.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Russia was punishing journalism with its “politicised legal system”, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the sentence “despicable”.
Washington accuses Russia of holding Gershkovich as a bargaining chip for a possible prisoner swap with Russian citizens held abroad.
But Moscow knows that the United States is ready to make exchanges in order to free its own citizens, and it is well known that the two countries have discussed such an exchange.
According to Russian observers, a quick conviction could mean that an exchange is imminent. Under Russian judicial practice, an exchange usually requires that a verdict already be delivered.
He is believed to have been referring to Vadim Krasikov, a hitman for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) who was sentenced to life in Germany for killing a former Chechen rebel commander in Berlin.
Gershkovich’s trial began last month, with the final two days of hearings originally scheduled for August. Prosecutors had sought an 18-year prison sentence.
But unexpectedly the hearing was brought forward to Thursday and the judge delivered his verdict on Friday afternoon.
In an indictment, prosecutors accuse Gershkovich, 32, of acting “on instructions from the CIA” to collect “secret information” about a tank factory in the Sverdlovsk region.
The journalist has consistently denied the accusations, and in a statement released Thursday, the WSJ called the trial a “shameful charade” and his detention an “outrage.”
Several other prominent Americans, including Paul Whelan, remain in Russian prisons. Mr Whelan was arrested in 2018 and charged with espionage.
In his statement Thursday, Mr. Biden said he had “no higher priority than seeking the release and safe return of Evan, Paul Whelan, and all Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad.”
