Russia | American journalist Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years in prison

(Ekaterinburg) A Russian court on Friday sentenced American journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison, marking the end of a summary trial behind closed doors on charges of “espionage,” a charge never substantiated by Russia.

His conviction was a precondition for a possible prisoner swap with Washington, as Moscow only exchanges detainees if they are convicted.

“Gershkovich Evan is found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in prison,” said the judge of the Sverdlovsk regional court of Yekaterinburg, Andrei Mineyev, according to an AFP journalist on the scene.

The reporter of the Wall Street Journalaged 32, will have to serve his sentence in a penal colony with a “severe regime”, which means very strict conditions of detention, compared to the “normal regime”.

In the dock, he appeared before the press before the verdict was read, his arms crossed, his head shaved (a haircut imposed on prisoners), a growing beard on his tired face.

In a press release, the Wall Street Journal denounced the sentence as “scandalous,” while the NGO Reporters Without Borders denounced “another flagrant example of unacceptable hostage-taking.” Evan Gershkovich said he was innocent and exercised his right to a “final speech” before the verdict, a court spokeswoman, Ekaterina Maslennikova, had announced to the press earlier. The prosecution had requested an 18-year prison sentence.

He will soon be sent to a penal colony if neither he nor the prosecution appeals within two weeks. This transfer could take several days, or even several weeks.

Russian killer

A reporter known for his professionalism, Evan Gershkovich was arrested at the end of March 2023, while he was reporting in Yekaterinburg (Urals). The accusation of “espionage” has never been substantiated by Russia. The journalist, his family, his relatives and the White House denounce a fabricated case.

The Kremlin again refused on Friday to specify its accusations: “The accusations of espionage are a very sensitive matter, we cannot make any further comments, the trial is ongoing,” evaded Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

Mr. Gershkovich’s trial, after 16 months in detention, was expeditious: a hearing on June 26, another on Thursday and finally this Friday. The entire procedure was kept secret and nothing leaked out of the closed hearing imposed by the authorities. It is therefore an express procedure, because trials of this type usually last several weeks or months.

For Washington, his arrest was primarily intended to cash in on a possible prisoner exchange, at a time of heightened tension between Russia and the United States over the armed conflict in Ukraine. Moscow has admitted negotiating his release, and Russian President Vladimir Putin himself has raised the case of Vadim Krassikov, who is in prison in Germany for a contract assassination attributed to Russian special services.

Evan Gershkovich is the first Western journalist since Soviet times to be charged with espionage in Russia. His imprisonment has sparked a wave of solidarity in the American and European media. In late June, the White House denounced it as a “sham” trial, repeating that Mr. Gershkovich had “never worked for the government” of the United States.

“Arbitrary” detention

The journalist communicates with his loved ones through letters read and censored by the prison administration. In these letters, he says he keeps his spirits up, awaits his sentence, wants to see the sky more often, all with touches of humor.

The child of immigrants who fled the USSR for the United States, Evan Gershkovich settled in Russia in 2017. In early July, a panel of UN experts ruled that his detention was “arbitrary” and that he should be released “without delay.”

Investigators accuse Mr. Gershkovich, who worked for AFP in Moscow in 2020-2021, of having collected sensitive information for the CIA on one of the main Russian arms manufacturers, the Uralvagonzavod company. This factory produces in particular T-90 tanks used in Ukraine and the new generation Armata, while its civilian activity is the production of freight cars.

Russia is holding several other Americans, including Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, arrested in 2023 on a “foreign agents” charge, and former Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence for espionage, a charge he disputes.

A Russian-American national, Ksenia Karelina, has been on trial since June 20, also in Yekaterinburg, for high treason, accused of having given money to a group supporting Ukraine.