Page 11 - RusRPTAug24

sentence of 20 years in prison. The prosecution had requested an 18-year prison sentence for the Wall Street Journal reporter.
Typically, the judge eventually settled on giving Gershkovich a sentence just short of the maximum, a sentence of 16 years. Russian trials have a 99% conviction rate.
Gershkovich's sentencing marks the first time an American journalist has been accused of espionage in Russia since the Cold War. Despite being officially accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow claimed he was gathering military secrets for the CIA. Both The Wall Street Journal and the US Government have vehemently denied these allegations.
On the first anniversary of Gershkovich’s imprisonment the Wall Street Journal ran a front page with a large blank space headlined “His story should be here” to protest his arrest.
Before the trial began, the US Embassy in Moscow stated that the Russian authorities had “failed to provide any evidence supporting the charges against him” and had “failed to explain why Evan’s work as a journalist constitutes a crime.” “We have been clear from the start that Evan has done nothing wrong and never should have been arrested in the first place. His case is not about
11 RUSSIA Country Report August 2024 www.intellinews.com