After over a year of proceedings, a Russian court has sentenced Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in a high-security penal colony for espionage.
The 32-year-old Bowdoin College graduate has been in prison since he was arrested in March of 2023 by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) while reporting in Yekaterinburg.
He was the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.
[RELATED: Trump Says Evan Gershkovich Would be Freed From Russian Prison ‘Immediately’ After his Election…]
According to the Wall Street Journal, Russian prosecutors accused Gershkovich of gathering information about a Russian defense contractor on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency — allegations that Gershkovich, the Journal, and the U.S. government have vehemently denied.
“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,” Almar Latour, the chief executive of Dow Jones and publisher of the WSJ, and WDJ Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said in a joint statement on Friday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Friday regarding the possibility of a prisoner exchange of Gershkovich that “I’m leaving that question without an answer.”
“There is a charge of espionage, so this is a very, very sensitive area,” Peskov said.
In a February interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “an agreement can be reached” for a prisoner swap to free Gershkovich.
The U.S. Embassy in Russia said this week that “Russian authorities have failed to present evidence of a crime or justify Evan’s continued detention.”
“We are alarmed by the Kremlin’s ongoing efforts to crack down on dissent and journalism,” the Embassy stated on X. “Like Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned for more than five and a half years, Evan remains resilient despite the circumstances.”
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, 54, was accused of spying and was arrested in Russia in 2018, and was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in June 2020.
“The United States remains committed to freeing both Evan and Paul and returning them to their families. People are not bargaining chips,” the U.S. Embassy wrote. “The Kremlin must stop wrongfully detaining people to exert political pressure and immediately release Evan and Paul.”
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="29466 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=29466">1 Comment
“People are not bargaining chips,” the U.S. Embassy wrote. Wow! That was powerful message. I’m sure Putin is quaking in his shoes.