US reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced by a Russian court on Friday to 16 years in prison for "espionage", a verdict slammed as "despicable", "disgraceful" and a "sham" by Western governments and his employer. Gershkovich was sentenced after just three court sessions in a secretive closed-door trial in the Urals City of Yekaterinburg, the city where he was arrested while on a reporting trip in March 2023. After the sentencing, US President Joe Biden said Gershkovich was "targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American." "We are pushing hard for Evan's release and will continue to do so," he added in a written statement published by the White House. Both Washington and Moscow say talks over a prisoner swap are ongoing. Russia has previously said its policy is not to trade people before they have been convicted, suggesting Friday's sentence could pave the way for the 32-year-old journalist to finally be swapped in a deal.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social site: "Biden will never get him out, unless he pays a 'king’s ransom.' I will get him out for no compensation immediately following our victory on November 5th, and it will be my great honor to do so." In court on Friday, Gershkovich did not appear to react to the sentencing, standing in a glass defendants' cage in dark trousers and a T-shirt. He waved to his journalist colleagues as he was led away. Judge Andrei Mineyev said Gershkovich would be sent to a "strict regime colony" -- a Russian prison camp notorious for harsh conditions and strict rules. The Wall Street Journal correspondent, who pleaded not guilty, became the first journalist in Russia to be charged with spying since the Cold War when he was detained in 2023.

He has spent almost 16 months in detention on charges the United States government and his employer have always said are fabricated. "This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist," the Journal's publisher Almar Latour and editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a statement. Washington believes he is being held as a bargaining chip to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad. His trial has moved rapidly since the first hearing in late June, with the prosecution and defence teams giving their final arguments on Friday. Other similar cases in Russia have dragged on far more slowly, with several weeks or even months between hearings.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan