Russia: American journalist Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years in prison

A Russian court sentenced Friday the American journalist Evan Gershkovich à 16 years in prison, marking the end of an expeditious trial behind closed doors for “espionage”, an accusation never substantiated by Russia.

His conviction was a precondition for a possible prisoner exchange with Washington, with Moscow only exchanging detainees if they are convicted.

“Gershkovich Evan is found guilty and sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment,” declared the judge of the Sverdlosvki regional court in Yekaterinburg, Andreï Mineev, according to an AFP journalist on site.

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

In the dock, he appeared before the press before the verdict was announced, 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 castigated a “scandalous” conviction, while the NGO Reporters Without Borders denounced “another blatant example of unacceptable hostage-taking”.

Evan Gershkovich said he was innocent and exercised his right to a “final speech” before the verdict, a court spokesperson, Ekaterina, announced to the press earlier. Maslennikova. The prosecution had requested 18 years in prison.

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

– Russian killer –

A reporter recognized 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, those close to him and the White House denounce a fabricated affair.

American journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, in the glass cage of the defendants, during the announcement of the verdict at the Sverdlosvki regional court in Yekaterinburg, July 19, 2024 in Russia © AFP – Alexander NEMENOV

The Kremlin once again refused on Friday to specify its accusations: “The accusations of espionage are a very sensitive thing, we cannot make further comments, the trial is ongoing”, a evaded Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov.

Mr. Gershkovich's trial, after 16 months of detention, will have been expeditious: a hearing on June 26, another on Thursday and finally that of this Friday. The entire procedure was kept under the seal of secrecy and nothing leaked out of the closed session imposed by the authorities.

This is therefore an express procedure, because trials of this type usually extend over several weeks or months.

For Washington, his arrest aimed above all to monetize a possible exchange of prisoners, in the midst of tension between Russia and the United States linked to the armed conflict in Ukraine.

Moscow admitted to negotiating his release and Russian President Vladimir Putin himself mentioned the case of Vadim Krassikov, in prison in Germany for a commissioned assassination attributed to the Russian special services.

Evan Gershkovich is the first Western journalist since Soviet times to be accused of espionage in Russia. His imprisonment sparked a significant wave of solidarity within American and European media.

At the end of June, the White House denounced a “sham” trial, repeating that Mr. Gershkovich had “never worked for the American government.”

– Detention ” arbitrary” –

The journalist communicates with his relatives via letters read and censored by the prison administration. In these letters, he says he is keeping his spirits up, awaiting his conviction, wanting to see the sky more often, all with touches of humor.

Child of immigrants having fled the USSR for the United States, Evan Gershkovich settled in Russia in 2017.

The Sverdlosvki regional court in Yekaterinburg where the trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich is taking place, July 19, 2024 in Russia © AFP – Alexander NEMENOV

At the beginning of 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 the AFP in Moscow in 2020-2021, of having collected sensitive information for the CIA on one of the main Russian arms manufacturers, the Uralvagonzavod enterprise.

This factory notably produces T-90 tanks used in Ukraine and those of the new Armata generation, while its civilian activity is the production of freight wagons.< /p>

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

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

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