Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was convicted of espionage in Russia on Friday and sentenced to 16 years on charges that the U.S. has vehemently denied.
The sentencing has possibly opened the doors for a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia. Gershkovich has been detained for over a year.
“The totality of the evidence presented to the court was sufficient to render a guilty verdict,” Judge Andrei N. Mineev said. Gershkovich did not admit any guilt.
Dow Jones, the parent company of the WSJ torched the conviction as “disgraceful” and a “sham,” in a statement immediately following the ruling.
This “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,” the statement reads.
“We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family,” Dow Jones leadership continued. “Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now.”
Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March of 2023 while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. He was the first American journalist to be accused of espionage since the Cold War.
He is one of several Americans detained in Russia in recent years, with concerns growing that the Kremlin is attempting to detain U.S. citizens for use as bargaining chips.
