AFPC-USA Condemns Russia After Journalist Evan Gershkovich Receives a 16-Year Prison Sentence
On Friday, July 19, 2024, the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (AFPC-USA) condemned the Russian government after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was found guilty of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Gershkovich and his employer have denied the charges, and U.S. authorities have classified him as wrongfully detained. He has now been in custody for more than a year. He was the first American journalist arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.
The case has come to an end mere weeks after Gershkovich was photographed in a glass cage, head shaven, on June 26, the day his trial started. The Kremlin has never publicly released any evidence to support their claims that the reporter was actively spying for the CIA.
Gershkovich’s legal team can appeal the conviction within 15 days. The Journal has slammed the verdict, saying that the “disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist.”
AFPC-USA joins scores of other vital press freedom organizations in advocating for Gershkovich’s release. Last month, the organization published an essay by his friend, the exiled Russian journalist Elizaveta Kirpanova, calling for his immediate release.
The full statement is as follows:
The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA condemns Russia in the strongest terms for its court’s groundless sentencing Friday of American reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison. It is unjust, unwarranted and illegal!
The secret trial came to its inevitable conclusion, demonstrating the sham justice of the Russian system.
Journalism is not a crime. Gershkovich, 32, was a rising star with the Wall Street Journal. He was on a legitimate reporting assignment in Russia in March 2023 when he was detained, illegally held by Russia's Federal Security Service, and unjustly charged with espionage. The U.S. government and the Wall Street Journal have repeatedly and emphatically stated he committed no crime and that Russia has failed to produce evidence of espionage. He is the first international journalist working for an American outlet to have been incarcerated on charges of spying in Russia since the Cold War.
There have been robust attempts to negotiate for his freedom while steadfastly proclaiming his innocence. The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA supports all efforts to free Gershkovich and demands Russia release him immediately.
