Calls for Release of WSJ Reporter Sentenced in Russia

Condemning the apparent use of an American journalist as a "pawn" to secure the release of a Russian imprisoned in Germany, press freedom groups on Friday demanded the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security penal colony.

Gershkovich was convicted and sentenced after a secretive and unusually speedy trial, with a court in Yekaterinburg finding him guilty of espionage.

The journalist was detained in March 2023 while he was reporting in Yekaterinburg. Prosecutors accused him of collecting "secret information" about a state-owned factory which manufactures tanks for Russia's war in Ukraine. The factory is located in Nizhniy Tagil, about 87 miles from the city.

Russia accused him of spying on behalf of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, which Gershkovich, the Biden administration, and The Wall Street Journal have strongly denied.

Russian officials fueled speculation that Gershkovich had been targeted in order to negotiate a prisoner exchange when they immediately denounced him as a spy after his arrest, without presenting evidence.

During three hearings in recent weeks, journalists were permitted into Sverdlovsk Regional Courthouse only before evidence was presented.

"Targeting Gershkovich in this way is another blatant example of unacceptable state hostage-taking by Russia."

Prosecutors pushed for an 18-year sentence, but their reasoning "faced no public scrutiny and may never be disclosed," reported The Washington Post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in February that Gershkovich could be released for Vadim Krasikov, an assassin associated with Russia's Federal Security Service, who was convicted of murder in Germany for killing a former Chechen separatist commander in Berlin in 2019.

Rebecca Vincent, director of campaigns for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Gershkovich had been subjected to a "sham trial" for political purposes.

"The sentencing of Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison is outrageous, and is the result of a trial that cannot be considered fair or free by any means," said Vincent. "This verdict should be immediately overturned. Journalists are not spies, and conflating journalism with espionage has highly dangerous implications for press freedom."

"Targeting Gershkovich in this way is another blatant example of unacceptable state hostage-taking by Russia," she added. "We urge his own government, the United States, to do everything in its power to secure his immediate release and his safe travel home."

Carlos Martinez de la Serna, program director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Gershkovich's case demands an end to "hostage diplomacy."

"Russia's decision to jail Evan Gershkovich for 16 years on sham charges is outrageous," said Martinez de la Serna. "Journalists are not pawns in geopolitical games."

U.S. President Joe Biden also described the 32-year-old journalist as a "hostage" and said the White House is "pushing hard for Evan's release and will continue to do so."

Several American citizens have been detained in Russia in recent years, raising alarm about Putin's government possibly using the tactic to secure the release of Russians who have been convicted in other countries. Biden secured the release of professional basketball player Brittney Griner in 2022, in exchange for the release of a Russian arms dealer.

Other American citizens imprisoned in Russia include musician Michael Travis Leake, who was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony on Thursday; Marc Fogel, a teacher who was sentenced to 14 years for drug smuggling in 2022; and Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 and accused of spying.