Russian court sentences US journalist Gershkovich to 16 years in jail
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been found guilty of espionage and jailed for 16 years following a quick-fire set of closed-door hearings in Russia.
The 32-year-old American journalist â who denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations against him were false â went on trial last month in the Russian city of Ekaterinburg, where he was detained last year, becoming the first US reporter to be arrested for spying in Russia since the Cold War.
Mr Gershkovichâs trial, which has repeatedly been labelled a âshamâ by US officials and the Journal, began on 26 June. Journalists were allowed to film him before the start but not to attend the three days of hearings which were held behind closed doors on the grounds that the case involves state secrets, while his lawyers have been prevented by non-disclosure agreements from speaking to the media about the proceedings.
State media reported ahead of Fridayâs verdict that Russian prosecutors had requested an 18-year sentence in a high-security penal colony for Mr Gershkovich. But the unusual speed at which the case was handled has led to growing speculation that he could be used in a prisoner exchange involving Russians currently held in the US and other western countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he believes such a deal could be reached after the verdict, hinting at a possible prisoner swap for Russian national Vadim Krasikov, who is currently imprisoned in Germany on a life sentence for the 2019 murder of a Chechen émigré in Berlin.
Mr Putin said that there have been contacts with Washington, but the Kremlin says such negotiations must take place in secret.
When asked by Reuters news agency on Friday about the possibility of such an exchange, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: âIâll leave your question unansweredâ.
Prosecutors alleged that Mr Gershkovich was on an assignment from the CIA to obtain âsecret informationâ about a military equipment facility, and claimed that Russia has âincontrovertible proofâ of his guilt after catching him âred-handedâ when he was arrested while dining in Ekaterinburg â about 1,400 km east of Moscow â on 29 March 2023.
No such evidence has been provided publicly, however, with Mr Gershkovich continuing to deny the accusations and pleading not guilty while US officials and the WSJ have both labelled the charges against him as âfalseâ and politically motivated.
US President Joe Biden has called the treatment of Mr Gershkovich âtotally illegalâ, as the US accuses Russia of using him and Paul Whelan, another American jailed for allegedly spying in Russia, in 2020, as âbargaining chipsâ.
US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said on Thursday: âThis fake, sham legal process that we are seeing play out has no bearing on the urgency that we have placed on seeking a release of Evanâs detention and seeking a release for Paul Whelan as well. And weâll continue to work that process tirelesslyâ.
Mr Gershkovich, the son of Soviet Ă©migrĂ©s who settled in the US, was held until last month in Moscowâs Lefortovo Prison, which is used by the FSB security service and its predecessor, the Soviet KGB, for suspects accused of crimes including spying.
He is fluent in Russian and moved to the country in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times before joining the WSJ in 2022.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.