“DISGRACEFUL, SHAM CONVICTION”
The Wall Road Journal correspondent, who pleaded not responsible, grew to become the primary journalist in Russia to be charged with spying because the Chilly Struggle when he was detained in 2023.
He has spent virtually 16 months in detention on prices the US authorities and his employer have at all times stated are fabricated.
“This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in jail, wrongfully detained, away from his household and pals, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist,” the Journal’s writer Almar Latour and editor-in-chief Emma Tucker stated in a press release.
Washington believes he’s being held as a bargaining chip to safe the discharge of Russians convicted overseas.
His trial has moved quickly because the first listening to in late June, with the prosecution and defence groups giving their last arguments on Friday.
Different comparable circumstances in Russia have dragged on way more slowly, with a number of weeks and even months between hearings.
Western governments expressed outrage on the verdict.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer known as it “despicable,” including that it “solely serves to underscore Russia’s utter contempt for media freedom”.
German International Minister Annalena Baerbock stated the case was “politically motivated” and demonstrated Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s worry of the ability of details.”