Evan Gershkovich's Unjust But Quick Sentence Sparks Hope for Imminent Prisoner Exchange

As a reporter from Russia, I spent many long hours in cold, dimly lit courtrooms covering politically motivated cases. That’s why I can confidently say that the trials held behind those doors almost never have anything to do with real justice.

There is no better word than “sham” to describe what happened on July 19 in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Sverdlovsk region located 1,000 miles from Moscow, where the court finalized the case of my friend and colleague Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old American journalist for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Evan was arrested and accused of espionage in March 2023. His employer vehemently denied the allegations, stating he was on an assignment trip as an accredited reporter. “Evan is a journalist whose offense was telling the truth about what he saw in wartime Russia,” the WSJ Editorial Board said in its latest statement.

Evan’s fate was closely watched by the entire world, but only about two dozen journalists gathered at the courthouse on the day of his final hearing. In the past, trials of such significance usually drew crowds of opposition-minded locals. The reason for the low turnout is simple: Russians are afraid to show their support publicly to people involved in anti-government cases for fear of persecution.

Consider the story of Yaroslav Shirshikov, a PR agent from Yekaterinburg who was detained in April 2023 and later sentenced to two years of prison for “justifying terrorism.” His alleged offense was social media posts in which he expressed no regret over the death of pro-Kremlin military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed last year in a bomb attack in Saint Petersburg. A month prior to his detention, Shirshikov had accompanied Evan during his assignment in the Sverdlovsk region and was the first to report the journalist’s disappearance.

After the arrest, Evan was placed in Lefortovo, Moscow's most isolated pretrial detention center. During the year and nearly three months he spent in custody, Russian authorities did not present any viable evidence to support their espionage charges, despite claiming Evan was “caught red-handed.” Without providing details, Russia claimed Evan was “gathering secret information” about a Sverdlovsk enterprise that produces and repairs military equipment on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

This allowed officials to justify holding Evan’s trial in secrecy. Reporters were only permitted to film the final verdict. Fragmented footage from the courtroom showed Evan, shaved bald and noticeably thinner, standing meekly in the corner of a glass cage as a man in a black robe, calling himself the “Judge,” monotonously read from a sheet of paper, announcing a 16-year sentence in a strict regime penal colony.

Evan pleaded not guilty. Before the bailiffs, hiding their faces behind black balaclavas, took him out of the courtroom, someone shouted: “Evan, we love you!”

For me, as someone who has seen even harsher unjust sentences handed down to Russian opposition figures, Evan’s conviction was unfortunately not a surprise—nor was it for his friends. “It was strange to expect something different from the Russian court, but that doesn’t make it any easier to witness,” journalist Masha Borzunova said of Evan’s verdict. “Russia has just sentenced an innocent man to 16 years in a high-security prison,” added Pjotr Sauer, another close friend of Evan’s. “I have no words to describe this farce.”

The lack of evidence and the absurd amount of jail time are not the only dubious aspects of Evan’s case. The timeline of his trial also raises many questions.

Consideration of Evan’s case on the merits began on June 26. The next hearing, initially set for mid-August, was rescheduled for nearly a month earlier following a defense motion, which is typically disregarded by the judge.

According to media reports, Vyacheslav Wegner, a deputy of the Sverdlovsk Region Legislative Assembly and a member of the ruling political party United Russia, was interrogated as a witness during the second hearing on July 18. Wegner had been interviewed by Evan shortly before his arrest. In March 2023, the deputy stated that the WSJ reporter was interested in the local population's attitude toward the Wagner Group, a private military company that fought in Ukraine, and the functioning of industrial enterprises amid the “special military operation.” 

It is unclear what Wegner said at the hearing or whether he testified for the defense or the prosecution. No other witnesses have been noticed on the court premises. The very next day, a debate lasting only 2.5 hours took place in court, during which the state asked that Evan serve an 18-year sentence in a high-security colony. The judge rushed to hand down the sentence the same evening, reducing the prosecutor’s request by two years.

Concluding such a high-profile case in less than a month is very unusual for the Russian judicial system. By comparison, the case of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine also sentenced to 16 years for espionage, was sent to trial in March 2020. His verdict was announced three months later.

This rush sparked many rumors about Russian authorities’ aims. There have been suggestions that the Kremlin wants to complete all legal procedures quickly before taking further steps toward a long-discussed potential prisoner swap. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is believed to have personally authorized Evan’s arrest, has previously stated his desire to exchange Evan for Vadim Krasikov, a convicted hitman jailed in Germany for killing a Chechen dissident in 2019. A few days before the final hearing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed a prisoner swap was being discussed between Russian and American intelligence services, but this topic “does not like fuss.” 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in his usual mysterious bureaucratic manner, recently refused to comment neither on the possible exchange, nor the case of another wrongfully convicted journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, who has both American and Russian citizenship. She was detained in Kazan last fall and was accused of “spreading fake news” about the Russian military. Her trial, also held behind closed doors, concluded on the same day as Evan’s, but the news of her verdict was only reported on Monday. She was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden has promised to keep “pushing hard” for Evan’s immediate release. “Since the very first day of my administration, I have had no higher priority than seeking the release and safe return of Evan, Paul Whelan, and all Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad,” the White House statement said. “Evan has endured his ordeal with remarkable strength. We will not cease in our efforts to bring him home.”

Despite the numerous assurances from the American officials, so far they all remain just words. We, friends and colleagues of Evan and Alsu, demand immediate action. All the hostages of Putin’s regime must return home.