US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been found guilty of espionage by a Russian court and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, after a secretive trial decried as a “sham” by his employer, his family and the White House.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter was first arrested last March while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,600km (1,000 miles) east of Moscow, by security services.
Prosecutors accused him of working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), accusations that Gershkovich, the WSJ and the US vociferously deny.
It marks the first conviction of a US journalist for espionage in Russia since the Cold War ended more than 30 years ago.
Continue reading HERE
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg64npg33r3o
[Disclaimer]
