US reporter Evan Gershkovich appears in court in Russia for second hearing on espionage charges
Associated PressJul 20
Russia Jails US Journalist Gershkovich for 16 Years for Spying
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Above: The Wall Street Journal's front page from the one year anniversary of the arrest of Evan Gershkovich at the National Press Club on May 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Andrew Harnik/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
A Russian court found Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich guilty of espionage on Friday, and sentenced him to to 16 years in a maximum security prison colony.
Gershkovich, who had official accreditation from Russia's Foreign Ministry, was arrested while reporting on an assignment in March 2023. He has been accused of collecting secret information on Uralvagonzavod, a Russian tank factory, for the CIA.
The Spin
Pro-Russia narrative
Gershkovich may have been used as a pawn, but by the US government, not by Russia. He spied on a tank factory on orders from the CIA to obtain secret information about Russia's military capabilities. Western media and advocacy groups can question this conviction all they want, but it doesn't change the fact that he's guilty.
Anti-Russia narrative
Gershkovich was targeted because he is both an American and a journalist. This conviction and trial were a sham, and he's obviously being used as a pawn in this corrupt case of geopolitical chess. Moscow wants to trade him in future prisoner swaps for their intelligence operatives and assassins held in Western jails.
