WSJ reporter Ivan Gershkovich was charged by the US with espionage by a Russian court.

CNN
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Ivan GershkovichThe first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War has been convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court, in a case condemned by the US government, his newspaper and supporters. as a dummy.

The court in Yekaterinburg announced the guilty verdict and sentence shortly after 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET) on Friday. Russia has sought an 18-year prison sentence for the Wall Street Journal reporter, state news agency TASS reported, citing a court.

The court heard closing arguments and Gershkovich delivered his closing remarks behind closed doors Friday morning.

The swift decision in the case comes just weeks after Gershkovich First appeared in a glass cage His head was recently shaved for the start of his trial on June 26. That day, Gershkovich stood with his arms crossed, occasionally smiling and waving to a crowd of reporters.

Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal during a trip to Yekaterinburg and later charged with spying for the CIA. Russian officials have not publicly provided any public evidence to support their claims.

Within two weeks of his arrest in March 2023, the US State Department called for his immediate release, citing wrongful detention.

In a statement on Thursday, his employer said he had been unjustly arrested. “Evan’s wrongful detention since his wrongful arrest 477 days ago is outrageous and must end now,” said WSJ Publisher Dow Jones.

“Despite Russia organizing its shameful fake trial, we continue to do everything we can for Ivan’s immediate release and say unequivocally: Ivan was doing his job as a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Bring him home now,” he said.

Following his arrest, he was imprisoned in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison, spending every hour of the day in a small cell. He passed the time by writing letters to his friends and family, and his parents told the WSJ that he was only allowed to walk for an hour a day.

Gershkovich, the US government and the WSJ have vehemently denied the allegations against him.

US and Western officials have accused Russia of using Gershkovich and other jailed foreigners as bargaining chips for possible prisoner exchanges.

High quality transfer In 2022, American basketball star Brittney Griner was transferred to arms dealer Victor Bott. But Russia refused It seeks a former colonel from Russia’s domestic spy agency to free another imprisoned American citizen, Paul Whelan.

In an interview with right-wing American media personality Tucker Carlson in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that “a deal could be reached” with the United States to release Gershkovich and a Russian national charged with an assassination. in Berlin in 2019.

The trial of Gershkovich, the American-born son of Soviet-era immigrants to America, highlights the extent to which Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has strained relations between Moscow and Washington.

Russian prosecutors said in their indictment that Gershkovich had been “collecting classified information” about the Russian tank factory “under the instructions of the CIA” and “using severe conspiratorial methods.”

Russian prosecutors said in their indictment that Gershkovich had been “collecting classified information” about the Russian tank factory “under the instructions of the CIA” and “using severe conspiratorial methods.”

This story has been updated.