A Russian court on Friday (July 19) ruled that American journalist Evan Gershkovich is guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. This marks the first time since the Cold War that an American journalist has been charged with espionage in Russia and sentenced, prompting many American and other Western journalists to leave Moscow.
US President Biden issued a statement on Friday condemning the verdict, saying, “Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in prison despite not committing a crime. He has become a target of the Russian government simply because he is a journalist and an American. We are working to secure Evan’s release and will continue to press for it.”
Biden emphasized that journalism is not a crime. He said that rescuing Gershkovich and another corporate security executive and former US Marine Paul Whelan, who are both detained by Russia on espionage charges, as well as all Americans wrongfully detained and kidnapped abroad, is his highest priority since taking office.
Biden mentioned that he will pray for Gershkovich and his family.
Furthermore, the new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also took to the social media platform X to condemn Russia, calling Gershkovich’s sentencing “despicable” and urging his immediate release.
The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested by Russian security forces in Yekaterinburg, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow, while he was on assignment there in March last year.
Prosecutors accused him of working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal, and the US government all strongly denied these charges.
Judge Andrei Mineyev stated that Gershkovich has already served close to 16 months in custody since his arrest, which will be counted towards the 16-year sentence, and both parties have 15 days to appeal the verdict.
Gershkovich’s employer, The Wall Street Journal, called it a “shameful false judgment.”
Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and the editor Emma Tucker stated in a joint statement, “This is a shameful, false conviction. After 478 days in prison, Evan has been wrongfully detained, separated from his family and friends, unable to report, all because he was doing his job as a journalist.”
They expressed their commitment to continuing all efforts to secure Evan’s release and support his family, saying, “Journalism is not a crime, and we will not stop until he is set free. This must end immediately.”
According to the video of Friday’s hearing released by the court, 32-year-old Gershkovich stood in a T-shirt and black pants inside a glass booth in the courtroom. After listening to the verdict for four minutes, the judge asked if he had any questions, to which he replied, “No.”
Russia cited national security as the reason for closing all procedures to the media except for the verdict.
Typically, espionage cases take months to complete, but this trial was conducted behind closed doors at an unusually swift pace, leading to speculation that a long-discussed US-Russia prisoner exchange agreement might be imminent, involving Gershkovich and other Americans possibly detained in Russia.
Russian observers have indicated to CNN that a swift conviction could signal an impending exchange. According to Russian judicial practice, prisoner exchanges usually occur after a guilty verdict is reached.
When asked about the possibility of such an exchange, the Kremlin declined to comment, as reported by Reuters.
The latest US-Russia prisoner swap occurred at the end of 2022, where American basketball star Brittney Griner was released in a swap between Russia and the US, exchanged for the controversial Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.