Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony by the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Russia on espionage charges. The trial, which concluded on July 19, 2024, has been widely condemned by the U.S. government and Gershkovich's employer as a sham. Russian prosecutors had initially sought an 18-year sentence. Gershkovich, who was detained in Yekaterinburg on March 29, 2023, had full press credentials from Russia's foreign ministry and has denied the accusations. The case has significant implications for press freedom in Russia and has raised the possibility of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia.
