Russia convicts US journalist of spying in a trial widely seen as politically motivated

YEKATERINBURG, Russia (AP) — Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was convicted Friday of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security jail on costs that his employer and the U.S. authorities have rejected as fabricated.

The swift conclusion of the secretive trial in Russia’s extremely politicized authorized system might probably clear the way in which for a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.

Gershkovich, his head shaved and looking out skinny in a darkish T-shirt, was calm as he stood in a glass defendants’ cage within the Sverdlovsk Regional Courtroom. He listened impassively to the decision however gave an occasional smile. When Choose Andrei Mineyev requested him if he had any questions in regards to the verdict, he replied “No, your honor.”

After Mineyev learn the decision, somebody within the courtroom shouted, “Evan, we love you!”

Closing arguments came about behind closed doorways the place Gershkovich didn’t admit any guilt, in keeping with the courtroom’s press service. Prosecutors requested an 18-year sentence, however the decide opted for a shorter time period.

U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned after the conviction that Gershkovich “was focused by the Russian authorities as a result of he’s a journalist and an American.”

“We’re pushing exhausting for Evan’s launch and can proceed to take action,” he mentioned in a press release. “As I’ve lengthy mentioned and because the U.N. additionally concluded, there isn’t any query that Russia is wrongfully detaining Evan. Journalism will not be a criminal offense.”

Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and writer of The Wall Avenue Journal, and Editor in Chief Emma Tucker known as it a “disgraceful, sham conviction.”

“Evan has spent 478 days in jail, wrongfully detained, away from his household and buddies, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist,” they mentioned in a press release. “We are going to proceed to do every part potential to press for Evan’s launch and to assist his household. Journalism will not be a criminal offense, and we won’t relaxation till he’s launched. This should finish now.”

Latour later advised The Related Press in an interview it was “deeply disconcerting” to see Gershkovich in a defendants’ cage with a shaved head “and the extra emaciated look,” however he added: “We do consider that he’s in any other case wholesome.”

Commenting on the unusually swift trial, he mentioned, “It simply goes to indicate that in an autocracy and a regime like this, trials can transfer at any pace, with an invisible hand deciding that.” It additional underscores “the pretend nature of those costs,” he added.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested March 29, 2023, whereas on a reporting journey to the Ural Mountains metropolis of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, with out providing any proof, that he was gathering secret data for the U.S.

He has been behind bars since his arrest, time that might be counted as a part of his sentence. Most of that was in Moscow’s infamous Lefortovo Jail — a czarist-era lockup used throughout Josef Stalin’s purges, when executions had been carried out in its basement. He was transferred to Yekaterinburg for the trial.

Gershkovich was the primary U.S. journalist arrested on espionage costs since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986, on the top of the Chilly Struggle. Overseas journalists in Russia had been shocked by Gershkovich’s arrest, although the nation has enacted more and more repressive legal guidelines on freedom of speech after sending troops into Ukraine.

In contrast to the trial’s opening June 26 in Yekaterinburg and former hearings in Moscow the place reporters might see Gershkovich briefly earlier than proceedings started, there was no entry to the courtroom Thursday when the trial resumed. Media had been allowed in Friday for the decision. Espionage and treason circumstances are usually shrouded in secrecy.

Russian courts convict greater than 99% of defendants, and prosecutors can enchantment sentences that they regard as too lenient.

The U.S. State Division has declared Gershkovich “wrongfully detained,” committing it to assertively search his launch.

Requested Friday a couple of potential prisoner swap involving Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to remark.

Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov mentioned Wednesday that Moscow and Washington’s “particular companies” are discussing an trade. Russia has beforehand signaled a potential swap, however mentioned a verdict should come first. Even after a verdict, a deal might take months or years.

U.S. officers provided to swap Gershkovich final 12 months however it was rejected by Russia, and so they haven’t made public any potential offers since then.

State Division deputy spokesman Vedant Patel on Thursday declined to debate negotiations about an trade.

President Vladimir Putin hinted earlier this 12 months he could be open to swapping Gershkovich for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of a Georgian citizen of Chechen descent.

Talking to reporters after the decision, prosecutor Mikael Ozdoyev mentioned Gershkovich was accused of gathering secret details about manufacturing and restore of army gear at Uralvagonzavod, an industrial plant about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Yekaterinburg that manufactures tanks. Ozdoyev repeated the declare that Gershkovich was appearing on directions from the CIA.

U.S. officers have dismissed this as bogus. “Evan has by no means been employed by america authorities. Evan will not be a spy,” White Home nationwide safety spokesperson John Kirby mentioned final month.

Russia’s interpretation of what constitutes excessive crimes like espionage and treason is broad, with authorities usually going after individuals who share publicly obtainable data with foreigners and accusing them of divulging state secrets and techniques.

U.N. human rights consultants mentioned this month that Russia violated worldwide regulation by jailing Gershkovich and will launch him instantly.

Arrests of Individuals are more and more widespread in Russia, with 9 U.S. residents identified to be detained there as tensions between the 2 international locations have escalated over preventing in Ukraine.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Moscow of treating “human beings as bargaining chips.” She singled out Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, 53, a company safety director from Michigan, who’s serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted on spying costs that he and the U.S. denied.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned Friday that on the subject of Gershkovich, Whelan and different Individuals wrongfully detained in Russia and elsewhere, we’re working “fairly actually every single day.”

“We’re working it as we communicate, and we’re not going to cease till we get Evan house, Paul house, until we get others house,” Blinken mentioned on the Aspen Safety Discussion board in Colorado.

Since sending troops to Ukraine, Russian authorities have detained a number of U.S. nationals and different Westerners.

In his assertion, Biden mentioned that “for the reason that very first day of my administration, I’ve had no greater precedence than looking for the discharge and protected return of Evan, Paul Whelan and all Individuals wrongfully detained and held hostage overseas.”

The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, Gershkovich was fluent in Russian and moved to the nation in 2017 to work for The Moscow Occasions newspaper earlier than being employed by the Journal in 2022.

Gershkovich had over a dozen closed hearings on extending his pretrial detention or appeals for his launch. He was dropped at the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared smiling for the various cameras earlier than the hearings started.

These gave his household, buddies and U.S. officers a glimpse of him, and it was a break from his in any other case monotonous jail routine. However his mom, Ella Milman, mentioned in addition they had been a painful reminder that “he’s not with us.”

Mates say that whereas he was in Lefortovo, Gershkovich was not allowed telephone calls and was allowed out of his cell for under an hour a day to train. He normally spent the remainder of his time studying books in English and Russian and writing letters to family and friends.

He relied on his humorousness to get by means of the times, in keeping with these near him.

As he marked his second 12 months in captivity in March, Milman mentioned he was “telling individuals to not freak out,” however she admitted the pressure for family and friends was “taking a toll.”