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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first Western reporter to be arrested for espionage in Russia since the end of the Cold War, has been found guilty of spying in what has been widely decried as a sham trial. He was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony on Friday.
“This disgraceful, sham conviction 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 Wall Street Journal’s leadership said in a statement.
Russian authorities have claimed they have “irrefutable evidence” that Gershkovich was spying on behalf of the US, but no proof has ever been publicly presented. US officials have called the case “ridiculous,” and dozens of countries have condemned his detention, too.
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Western officials believe Russia has been detaining American citizens to use as bargaining chips to be traded for Russians held in the West, such as the hitman Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of a Chechen dissident.
Other Americans being held in Russia include former Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and Marc Fogel, a teacher sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony for drug smuggling.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Wednesday that discussions are underway about a possible prisoner exchange for Gershkovich, something Russian officials have insisted would only be possible after his trial ended. “The intelligence services of the two countries… have been involved in contacts looking into the possibility of an exchange,” Lavrov said.