Bargaining Chips

Listen to Today's Edition:

A Russian court this week sentenced Wall Street Journal (WSJ) correspondent Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison on charges of espionage, a verdict that has prompted Western condemnation and accusations that Moscow is using the US journalist as a bargaining chip, NPR reported.

The case against Gershkovich began in March 2023 when Russian authorities detained the journalist in the eastern city of Yekaterinburg on charges of collecting “secret information” for a regional tank factory on the order of the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Gershkovich and WSJ denied the allegations, saying the correspondent was operating in Russia with official accreditation from Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

He was kept in detention for more than a year before a Yekaterinburg court on Friday sentenced him to 16 years in a Russian penal colony. Friday’s closed-door trial was denounced as a sham by the outlet and the US government, calling the charges against him “fiction.”

Gershkovich’s conviction marks the first time since the end of the Cold War more than 30 years ago that a US journalist has been convicted of espionage in Russia, according to the BBC.

European Union officials accused Moscow of punishing journalism with its “politicized legal system,” while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the sentence as “despicable.”

US officials noted Russia’s arrest and detention of Gershkovich underscores another effort by Moscow to use American citizens “to achieve its political objectives.” These include swapping the US journalist with Russian citizens in foreign jails.

Analysts explained that Friday’s espionage trial ended faster than expected because such proceedings usually require months or years to conclude. The expedited verdict has fueled speculation that the US and Russia are closing in on a prisoner swap.

According to Russian judicial practices, such exchanges take place after a verdict has been issued.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced last week that back-channel talks between Washington and Moscow were “ongoing.”

Observers suggested that Gershkovich could be traded for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian Federal Security Service hitman serving a life sentence in Germany for shooting dead a former Chechen rebel commander in Berlin.

Meanwhile, the US government is also negotiating the release of other US citizens held in Russian prisons, such as Paul Whelan.

Whelan was detained in 2018 and is serving a lengthy prison sentence on espionage charges.