American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in a high-security Russian penal colony on espionage charges.
The 32-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) was arrested in March 2023 while reporting in Yekaterinburg.
Russian prosecutors accused him of spying for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), allegations he and his employer deny.
This is the first espionage conviction of a U.S. journalist in Russia since the end of the Cold War.
The trial was secretive and criticised as unfair by the WSJ and U.S. officials.
The court unexpectedly accelerated the trial’s schedule, with the verdict delivered shortly after the final hearings.
The U.S. suspects that Gershkovich’s detention might be used as leverage for a potential prisoner swap, a notion supported by recent discussions between Russia and the U.S.
The sentencing came after prosecutors sought an 18-year term from the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg.
More details to follow…