(GoRealNewsNow.com) – In a move sparking widespread condemnation, Russian authorities convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison.
The 32-year-old reported was arrested in Russia last year on espionage charges, which both the Journal and the U.S. government firmly deny.
Russian officials have not released any public evidence to support these charges while the verdict followed three days of secretive hearings, which many believed would end in this way before the trial even started.
Wall Street Journal publisher Almar Latour and editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a joint statement, “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.”
“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 must end now,” they continued.
Moreover, Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 during a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg. He is the first U.S. journalist to be arrested in Russia on espionage charges since the Cold War.
He also spent the past year in Russia’s harsh Lefortovo prison before being moved to Yekaterinburg for the trial.
Although Gershkovich did not admit guilt, the court claimed that “the totality of the evidence presented to the court was sufficient to render a guilty verdict.”
In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin had hinted at the possibility of a prisoner swap during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov mentioned that negotiations were “ongoing.”
Russian state media reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov avoided commenting on the potential swap with the U.S.
Similarly, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel also avoided discussing the negotiations but emphasized that the U.S. government believes Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained.
“Today, Evan Gershkovich received a sentence of 16 years in a Russian prison, despite having committed no crime. Rather, he was targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American. We are pushing hard for Evan’s release and will continue to do so,” Joe Biden said.
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