A court in Russia on Friday sentenced Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, to 16 years in a high-security penal colony. The court said this would end his espionage case but possibly open the way for a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia.
The harsh sentence represented the first espionage conviction of a Western reporter in modern Russia. However, the expedited nature of the case suggested that Moscow might be ready to trade Mr. Gershkovich.
The court said in a statement that Mr. Gershkovich did not admit guilt, but “the totality of the evidence presented to the court was sufficient to render a guilty verdict.”
Dow Jones, the parent company of the Journal, called the conviction “disgraceful” and a “sham” in a statement.
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