Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison after wrongful conviction

Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter falsely accused by Russian authorities of spying, was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, after a hurried, secret sham trial.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich, at the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg on Friday, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison on trumped-up spying charges. Picture: AFP

Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter falsely accused by Russian authorities of spying, was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, after a hurried, secret trial that the US government has condemned as a sham.

The court’s verdict – after three days of hearings – was widely viewed as a foregone conclusion, since acquittals in Russian espionage trials are exceedingly rare. Gershkovich was afforded few of the protections normally accorded to defendants in the US and other Western countries.

Russian authorities have produced no public evidence to support their allegations, which Gershkovich, the Journal and the U.S. government have vehemently and repeatedly denied. A court spokeswoman said that Gershkovich “did not admit guilt” during Friday’s proceedings.

“This fake, sham legal process that we are seeing play out has no bearing on the urgency that we have placed on seeking a release of Evan’s detention and seeking a release for Paul Whelan as well. And we’ll continue to work that process tirelessly,” Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the State Department, said on Thursday.

Gershkovich, a 32-year-old US citizen, has been imprisoned since March of last year, when he was detained by the country’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, while on a reporting assignment in Yekaterinburg, around 1450km east of Moscow.

The proceedings against Gershkovich were accelerated as the court moved up hearing dates by nearly a month. Russian officials, from President Vladimir Putin on down, have signalled an interest in swapping Gershkovich for Russians held in the West.

Asked on Friday about a possible exchange of Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “I’m leaving that question without an answer,” according to Russian state media.

“There is a charge of espionage, so this is a very, very sensitive area, ” Mr Peskov told reporters.

“We simply cannot give any other comments, because the trial is ongoing.”

In June, Russian prosecutors approved an indictment of Gershkovich, falsely alleging that he was gathering information about a Russian defence contractor on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency.

In fact, Gershkovich, who was accredited as a foreign correspondent by Russian authorities, was in Yekaterinburg and elsewhere in the Sverdlovsk region for the sole purpose of reporting for the Journal.

Russia’s detention of the American journalist has commanded public attention worldwide and prompted the White House to work to secure his release. His case has played out against a background of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The US has designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained, committing the government to work toward his freedom.

Paul Whelan, another American held by Moscow, was sent to a penal colony in 2020 following a conviction on espionage charges that he, his family and the US government say are false. Whelan, a retired Marine, is serving a 16-year sentence and is also designated by the US as wrongfully detained.

US basketball star Brittney Griner, who was detained on drug charges after flying into Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February 2022, was also moved to a penal colony. She pleaded guilty to the drug charges in August, a prelude to her release in December of that year as part of a US-Russia prisoner swap.

Previously, Gershkovich had been detained in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison, where Russia has held political prisoners since the days of the Soviet Union. He was moved to Yekaterinburg for his trial.

It follows more than a year of pre-trial hearings and appeals by the journalist against his detention, including at least one failed request by his legal team that he be transferred to house arrest, agree to constraints on his movements or be granted bail.

Russia has indicated its openness to the possibility of a prisoner-swap deal that would send him home.

Last month, Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, again raised the prospect of a prisoner exchange with the US. In February, Mr Putin indicated that he would be open to a prisoner swap for Gershkovich and others. He made clear reference to Vadim Krasikov, an FSB operative now serving a life sentence in Germany for killing a Chechen emigre in Berlin in 2019.

The US has said it is working to release Gershkovich and other Americans held in Russia.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, in June said Gershkovich “is simply being used as a bargaining chip”, along with Mr Whelan.

Kate Vtorygina contributed to this article.

The Wall Street Journal