MOSCOW: In what his employer, The Wall Street Journal, dubbed “a disgraceful sham conviction,” a Russian court found US reporter Evan Gershkovich guilty of espionage on Friday and sentenced him to 16 years in a high security penitentiary colony.
The 32-year-old American, Gershkovich, who denied any wrongdoing, was charged with attempting to obtain confidential information about a tank manufacturer and was put on trial in the city of Yekaterinburg last month.
Many US and other Western correspondents fled Moscow after his detention in March of last year. He was the first American journalist to be accused of spying in Russia since the end of the Cold War.
According to President Joe Biden, Gershkovich was unfairly arrested and did not commit any crimes. In a statement, Biden stated, “We are pushing hard for Evan’s release and will continue to do so.” “Reporting is not illegal.”
The court released video from Friday’s session, which featured Gershkovich standing in a glass courtroom cage while the verdict was read aloud in rapid-fire legalese for almost four minutes. Gershkovich was wearing a T-shirt and black pants. When the judge asked whether he had any questions, he answered “Nyet” (which means “no” in Russian).
The judge, Andrei Mineyev, declared that Gershkovich’s approximately 16 months of incarceration will be deducted from his 16-year sentence.
Mineyev gave the order to destroy the reporter’s paper notebook and cell phone. Defense can file an appeal within 15 days.
The Journal released a statement saying, “This shameful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, and prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist.”
“We’ll keep doing everything in our power to support Evan’s family and advocate for his release,” Since journalism is not illegal, we won’t stop until he is freed.
