The Sverdlovsk Regional Court has sentenced American journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal newspaper Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison in the espionage case.
"Evan Gershkovich found guilty, to impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of 16 years with serving his sentence in a high-security colony," the judge announced the verdict.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia had clear evidence proving Gershkovich's involvement in spy activities. According to investigators, in March 2023, Gershkovich, as instructed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), collected secret information in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region about the activities of Russian defense enterprise Uralvagonzavod, which produces and repairs military equipment.
Russia's Federal Security Service arrested Gershkovich in March 2023 on suspicion of trying to collect classified defense information for the United States while he was on assignment in Yekaterinburg. The Wall Street Journal denied the charges and Washington argued the reporter had been detained "wrongfully."