American journalist sentenced to 16 years in Russia

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg: A Russian court convicted American journalist Ivan Gershkovich of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. Gershkovich’s employer and the US have rejected the charges, calling the entire process a sham. The verdict could pave the way for a possible prisoner exchange between Russia and the US.

Gershkovich stood quietly in the dock as the verdict was read out at the Sverdlovsk Regional Court. When Judge Andrei Mineyev asked if he had any questions about the verdict, he replied, “No, your honor.”

Gershkovich (32) was detained during a reporting trip in March 2023 and accused of spying for the US. He has been behind bars since then. Gershkovitch is the first American journalist to be detained on espionage charges since the arrest of Nicholas Daniloff in 1986, during the height of the Cold War.

On this decision, US President Joe Biden said that Gershkovitch was targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American.