A Russian court “convicted” Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich of spying, sentencing him to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.
Russia even moved up the proceedings against Gershkovich:
The proceedings against Gershkovich were accelerated as the court moved up hearing dates by nearly a month. Russian officials, from President Vladimir Putin on down, have signaled an interest in swapping Gershkovich for Russians held in the West.Asked on Friday about a possible exchange of Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “I’m leaving that question without an answer,” according to Russian state media. “There is a charge of espionage, so this is a very, very sensitive area.”
Russian officials arrested Gershkovich in March 2023 while he reported from Yekaterinburg, a city 900 miles from Moscow.
Gershovich already spent 478 days in prison. The WSJ responded:
“This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist,” Almar Latour, the chief executive of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said in a statement.“We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family,” they said. “Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now.”
Biden’s administration worked hard to bring back a WNBA player who actually broke Russian law.
Biden has left Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, who haven’t committed crimes, behind to languish in Russian prisons.
Whelan is also in prison for espionage.
In June, Russian Deputy Minister Sergei Ryabkov mentioned a possible prisoner exchange.
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