WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years for espionage by Russian court in case denounced by US as a sham

Gershkovich, the first American journalist to face espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, has been convicted of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court, an outcome condemned as a farce by the U.S. government, his newspaper, and supporters. The court in Yekaterinburg delivered the verdict and sentence on Friday shortly after 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), following the closing arguments. Gershkovich, a 32-year-old reporter for the Wall Street Journal, provided his final remarks behind closed doors that morning.

The swift conclusion of the trial comes just weeks after Gershkovich, who appeared in court with a freshly shaved head, first emerged in a glass cage at the trial's commencement on June 26. On that day, he greeted reporters with crossed arms, sometimes smiling and waving. The expedited nature of the trial has spurred speculation that the Kremlin may be considering using him in a potential prisoner exchange with the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refrained from commenting on these suggestions during a conference call ahead of the verdict announcement. In June, Moscow reaffirmed that discussions regarding a prisoner exchange for Gershkovich were ongoing, yet Peskov insisted such talks would be conducted in “absolute silence” to avoid complications.

Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while on assignment in Yekaterinburg and subsequently accused of spying for the CIA. Russian authorities have not provided any public evidence to substantiate these allegations. The U.S. State Department classified him as wrongfully detained within two weeks of his arrest, calling for his immediate release.

Following the sentencing on Friday, his employer issued a statement decrying the “disgraceful, sham conviction” that left Gershkovich, who has spent 478 days in detention, separated from his family and barred from reporting, all for fulfilling his duties as a journalist. The statement from Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal Publisher, along with Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker, emphasized, “Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now.” The verdict is not yet final, and the defense has 15 days to appeal, as noted by Judge Andrey Mineyev.

In addition, the court ordered Gershkovich to pay procedural costs of 6,708 rubles ($77) and mandated the destruction of personal items like an iPhone and a notepad. The judge indicated that the time Gershkovich has already spent in custody will count toward his sentence. After his arrest, he was held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison, usually confined to a small cell for most of the day, before being transferred to Yekaterinburg, over 1,100 miles from the capital. During his detention, he reportedly spent his time writing letters to friends and family, with just one hour of outdoor exercise daily.

Gershkovich, along with the U.S. government and the Wall Street Journal, has strongly denied the espionage charges. Many U.S. and Western officials have accused Russia of exploiting Gershkovich and other detained foreigners as leverage for possible prisoner exchanges. A notable swap in 2022 involved U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner and arms dealer Viktor Bout; however, Russia declined to release another U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan, as it sought a former colonel from its domestic intelligence agency in exchange.

In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that a resolution could be reached with the U.S. regarding Gershkovich, hinting at parallels with the case of a Russian national convicted of an assassination in Berlin in 2019. Gershkovich's trial has underscored the significant strain on U.S.-Russia relations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian prosecutors claimed that Gershkovich was “collecting secret information” about a Russian tank factory “under instructions from the CIA” and employing “painstaking conspiratorial methods.”

This report will be updated as more information becomes available.