Russia sentences U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison on espionage charges

A Russian court has sentenced Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison on espionage charges, according to Russian state media.

Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, was arrested last year while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg and has spent nearly the last 16 months in Moscow’s Lefortovo remand prison. Gershkovich’s trial was held behind closed doors and lasted just two days in total. State prosecutors initially requested a sentence of 18 years.

Gershkovich pleaded not guilty.

The Russian authorities claim that Gershkovich worked “under the direction of the CIA” to gather classified information about the activities of a Russian defense company in the country’s Sverdlovsk region.

In April 2023, the Russian authorities arrested PR expert and activist Yaroslav Shirshikov, who was one of the first people to report Gershkovich’s disappearance, on charges of “justifying terrorism” for an online post about the death of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. Shirshikov had given an interview to Gershkovich and said he planned to write about Yekaterinburg residents’ attitudes toward the invasion of Ukraine.

Journalists from around the world have called for Gershkovich’s release, and the White House has said it’s working to bring him back home. On July 17, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov confirmed that the question of a prisoner exchange is being discussed by the two countries’ intelligence agencies.