Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in prison by a court in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The New Jersey-born reporter, whose parents are Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, is accused of “collecting secret information” about a tank factory “under instructions from the CIA.” Still, little evidence of wrongdoing has been presented in public.
Gershkovich, the U.S. government, and the WSJ all deny the charges against him, with many suspecting he is a pawn in efforts by Russia to secure a prisoner swap. Joe Biden previously exchanged Brittney Griner, a U.S. basketball player the Russians arrested on a drug smuggling charge in 2022, for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms manufacturer and trader known as the ‘Merchant of Death.’
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin suggested that “an agreement can be reached” for a similar swap with Gershkovich.
“Evan’s wrongful detention has been an outrage since his unjust arrest 477 days ago, and it must end now,” commented Wall Street Journal publisher publisher Dow Jones. “Even as Russia orchestrates its shameful sham trial, we continue to do everything we can to push for Evan’s immediate release and to state unequivocally: Evan was doing his job as a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Bring him home now.”
In May, former President Donald J. Trump pledged to secure Gershkovich’s release “almost immediately after the Election” while he is still President-elect.
