A Russian courtroom has sentenced American journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in jail after convicting him for espionage in a closed-door trial, state media experiences.
The 32-year-old correspondent for The Wall Avenue Journal pleaded not responsible and his employer and the US have denounced the fees as fabricated.
Gershkovich was arrested on March 29, 2023, whereas on a reporting journey to the Ural Mountains metropolis of Yekaterinburg.
He was accused by prosecutors of gathering secret details about Uralvagonzavod, a plant manufacturing tanks for Russia’s battle in Ukraine, on the orders of the Central Intelligence Company (CIA).
He’s the primary Western journalist to be arrested on espionage expenses in post-Soviet Russia.
Gerschkovich, his newspaper and the US authorities say he was simply doing his job, with accreditation from Russia’s Ministry of International Affairs.
The prosecution had earlier requested the Sverdlovsk Regional Court docket in Yekaterinburg for an 18-year sentence.
Extra to come back …