In a controversial trial for alleged espionage, US reporter Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in a strict camp in Russia. Russian businesses reported this unanimously from the court docket within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg.
The prosecution had demanded 18 years in jail. Gershkovich, who labored as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Russia, the US newspaper itself and the US authorities have all the time rejected the allegations as baseless.
The US embassy in Moscow has repeatedly referred to as for Gershkovich’s rapid launch. It accused the Russian authorities of abusing US residents to realize political targets. The trial was not public.
Negotiations behind the scenes
According to official Russian data, secret negotiations are underway with the USA about an trade of Gershkovich, however no settlement has but been reached. Russian observers interpret a fast conviction as a attainable indication that Gershkovich may now be exchanged shortly. As a rule, in response to Russian judicial follow, a verdict have to be in place for an trade to happen.
Collected information on an arms manufacturing facility?
The 32-year-old US reporter was arrested in March 2023 on expenses of espionage. The Russian home intelligence service FSB had made the accusations towards Gershkovich. According to the indictment, he’s mentioned to have secretly collected data on the Uralvagonzavod arms manufacturing facility on behalf of the US secret service CIA.
At the time of his arrest, the reporter was on a analysis journey to town of Yekaterinburg, east of the Ural Mountains, the place his trial was now going down.
Gershkovich spent most of his greater than a yr of pre-trial detention in a Moscow jail. He repeatedly appealed towards the extension of his detention, however to no avail.
The trial towards him started on June 26. After the second day of the trial, the court docket concluded what the judiciary referred to as the listening to of proof on Thursday. Media reported {that a} native deputy from Yekaterinburg who had met with Gershkovich testified in court docket as a witness. The politician had beforehand reported that the US citizen was all for army points.
Source: www.nationalturk.com