Russian agencies reported this unanimously from the court in the city of Yekaterinburg. The Wall Street Journal correspondent has denied the allegations in the trial. The prosecutor had previously requested 18 years in prison.
- Read from the archive: Spy trial against US reporter Gershkovich in Russia postponed
The 32-year-old US reporter was arrested in March 2023 on charges of espionage. The Russian domestic intelligence service FSB had made the accusations against Gershkovich. According to the indictment, he is said to have secretly collected information about the Uralvagonzavod arms factory on behalf of the US secret service CIA. Gershkovich, the US newspaper itself and the US government have always rejected the allegations as baseless. Washington is demanding his release.
According to official Russian information, secret negotiations are underway with the USA about an exchange of Gershkovich, but no agreement has yet been reached. Russian observers interpret a quick conviction as a possible indication that Gershkovich could now be exchanged quickly. According to Russian judicial practice, a verdict must usually be in place for an exchange to take place.
Warnings to Western reporters
The power apparatus is thus repeatedly pressuring for the release of Russians imprisoned in the USA. In addition, the Kremlin has an interest in freeing a Russian in Germany who was convicted of the murder in Berlin’s Tiergarten in 2021. According to the German verdict, the murderer shot a Georgian citizen on behalf of Moscow state authorities in revenge for allegedly killing Russian soldiers in the Chechen war.
Like many Western journalists, Gershkovich had worked and researched in Russia with accreditation from the Moscow Foreign Ministry. After that, there were also official warnings to Western reporters against traveling to Yekaterinburg, 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow, known for its arms industry, during wartime. The situation in the country is particularly tense because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Representatives of Western media who come from officially so-called unfriendly states quickly run the risk of being denounced as spies.
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