Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years in Russian penal colony
Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony in Russia. The court's decision was delivered after closed-door sessions. The Sverdlovsk Regional Court sentenced the Wall Street Journal correspondent to 16 years of imprisonment on charges of espionage. The prosecution had sought an 18-year sentence for the journalist. Gershkovich denies the charges, reports Meduza.
The court completed its investigation over two sessions held on June 26 and July 18, both conducted in a closed setting. In June, the Russian prosecutor's office approved an indictment falsely claiming that Gershkovich was collecting information regarding the Russian defence contractor "Uralvagonzavod" on behalf of the CIA. In reality, Gershkovich, who was an accredited foreign correspondent by Russian authorities, was in Yekaterinburg and other cities in the Sverdlovsk region solely to report for the newspaper.
Previously, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention confirmed that Gershkovich's arrest had no legal basis and stated that it was "effectively intended to punish him for his reports on the Russia-Ukraine war." Additionally, former US President Donald Trump has claimed that he could secure Gershkovich's release if he were to win a second term. He believes that Putin would hand over the journalist without demanding anything in return.