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Georgia Senator decries Russia’s ‘sham sentencing’ of American journalist Evan Gershkovich

By WSBTV.com News Staff

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands listening to the verdict in a glass cage of a courtroom inside the building of "Palace of justice," in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Friday, July 19, 2024. A Russian court convicted Gershkovich on espionage charges that his employer and the U.S. have rejected as fabricated. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a secretive and rapid trial in the country's highly politicized legal system. (AP Photo) (Dmitri Lovetsky /AP)

By WSBTV.com News Staff

ATLANTA — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia strongly condemned the sentencing of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia on Friday.

“I condemn the Russian Government’s wrongful arrest, sham trial, and today’s unjust ‘sentencing’ of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. I call again for Mr. Gershkovich’s immediate release,” Ossoff said in a statement. “Mr. Gershkovich is an honorable American journalist who has been illegitimately seized and prosecuted by the Russian Federation. His detention and sham trial are cruel and unjustifiable violations of human rights and press freedom.”

Gershkovich, who has been in the custody of the Russian government since his arrest in March 2023 on charges of espionage. He was convicted and charged on Friday.

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The Russian government accused him of working on behalf of the U.S. government to find and collect state secrets in Russia. Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have repeatedly denied those claims.

The Associated Press reported that during the trial, the Russian government did not present evidence or provide details though prosecutors said Gershkovich was “caught red handed.”

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The AP also reported that Gershkovich’s arrest came about a year after President Vladimir Putin pushed through laws that chilled journalists, criminalizing criticism of Russia’s war in Ukraine and statements seen as discrediting the military.

The U.S. Department of State, which handles U.S. foreign policy actions, has listed Gershkovich as wrongly detained since early April 2023.

The AP reports Gershkovich is the first Western journalist arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia.

“Today, Evan Gershkovich received a sentence of 16 years in a Russian prison, despite having committed no crime. Rather, he was targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American. We are pushing hard for Evan’s release and will continue to do so,” President Joe Biden said in a statement after the sentencing on Friday.

The president said Gershkovich and his family were in his prayers.

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