Russian court convicts WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage

Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter, was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court on Friday after being found guilty of espionage charges in a closed-door trial. The charges against Gershkovich have been vehemently rejected by him, his employer the Wall Street Journal, and the White House, who all maintain that he was simply doing his job as an accredited journalist in Russia.

Gershkovich's trial in the city of Yekaterinburg was unusually swift, with Friday's hearing being only the third in the trial proceedings. This hasty pace has fueled speculation that a potential prisoner exchange deal between the United States and Russia involving Gershkovich and potentially other detained Americans may be in the works. When asked about the possibility of such an exchange, the Kremlin spokesman declined to comment, stating, "I'll leave your question unanswered."

Russian prosecutors had alleged that Gershkovich gathered secret information on behalf of the CIA about a Russian company manufacturing tanks for the war in Ukraine, claims that Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal have denied. Gershkovich was arrested on March 29, 2023, by officers of the FSB security service at a steakhouse in Yekaterinburg, located around 900 miles (1,400 km) east of Moscow.

Since his arrest, he has been held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison.