Moscow: American reporter Evan Gershkovich was on Friday sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court, reported Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal reporter was found guilty of espionage, state news agency RIA said.
The 32-year-old Gershkovich went on trial last month in the city of Yekaterinburg. He has all through denied any wrongdoing, saying that the allegations against him were false.
Wall Street Journal called the judgment a ‘sham’.
According to prosecutors, Gershkovich gathered secret information on the orders of the US Central Intelligence Agency about a company that manufactures tanks being used in Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
He is the first American journalist to have been arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War.
Most espionage cases generally continue for months. But Gershkovich’s case has been conducted in super quick time, leading to raised eyebrows.
The trial was held behind closed doors, with Friday’s being only the third.
