The Russian court sentenced Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison

A Russian court has found Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a high-security penitentiary colony, following a private trial described as a "sham" by his employer, family, and the White House.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 while visiting Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a reporting assignment. He was charged with spying for the United States and has remained in jail ever since.

Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal, and the United States vigorously refute the charges made by the prosecutors that he is employed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The court made a second declaration announcing that Gershkovich had been found guilty of gathering classified information about the operations of a defense company for the purpose of producing and maintaining military hardware under the direction of American intelligence services.

Judge Andrei Mineyev of the Sverdlovsk Regional Court remanded Gershkovich into detention pending the proper enforcement of his sentence. It is also expected of the journalist to pay the slightly over $75 in legal fees.

Russia has never released any convincing proof to back up its allegations against Gershkovich.

Additionally, the US government denounces the accusations made against Gershkovich and believes that his detention was unjustified.

“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 Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said in a statement.

“We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family.

“Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This needs to stop right away.

The court stated that both sides in the trial have fifteen days to file an appeal of the verdict.

President Joe Biden has urged Vladimir Putin, his counterpart in Russia, to free the journalist who was detained while on a reporting assignment on several occasions. Attorney General Merrick Garland declared at a press conference in the weeks following Gershkovich's detention that the United States would take "everything in its power" to free the journalist.