US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony by a Russian court docket on espionage prices after his employer denounced it as a “hoax”.
The Wall Road Journal (WSJ) reporter was arrested by safety providers final March whereas first reporting within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) east of Moscow.
Prosecutors accuse him of working for the Central Intelligence Company (CIA), an allegation that Gershkovich, the Wall Road Journal and the USA vehemently deny.
That is the primary time an American journalist has been convicted of espionage in Russia because the finish of the Chilly Struggle greater than 30 years in the past.
The trial started final month, with the ultimate two days of proceedings scheduled for August. Prosecutors requested for an 18-year jail sentence.
However in a shock transfer, the listening to was moved to Thursday, and court docket officers introduced a verdict can be handed down on Friday.
In an indictment, prosecutors accused the 32-year-old Gershkovic of amassing “secret info” a couple of manufacturing facility within the Sverdlovsk area that produced tanks “on directions from the CIA.”
The journalist has all the time denied the accusations, and the Wall Road Journal referred to as the trial a “shameful sham” and his detention an “outrage” in a press release on Thursday.
Washington accuses Russia of utilizing him as a bargaining chip in prisoner swaps with Russian residents in overseas prisons.
However Moscow is aware of the USA is ready to make swaps to free its residents, and the 2 nations have been identified to debate such swaps.
Russia observers stated a swift conviction might imply a swap is imminent. In keeping with Russian judicial follow, trade usually requires that the judgment has already taken impact.
