The only surprise in the guilty verdict against Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal correspondent who was arrested in Russia last year on phony charges of espionage, was that it came so quickly. The charge itself was a farce. No evidence was ever made public, the hearings were held in secret, and Gershkovichās lawyers were barred from saying anything in public about the case.
Gershkovichās arrest, trial and conviction all serve President Vladimir Putinās goal of silencing any honest reporting from inside Russia about the invasion of Ukraine and of making Russians even warier of speaking with any foreigner about the war.
Independent Russian news outlets have been almost entirely shut down and their journalists imprisoned or forced to leave the country. So foreign correspondents are among the few remaining sources of independent reporting from inside Russia. Gershkovichās last published article before his arrest, on March 29, 2023, was headlined, āRussiaās economy is starting to come undoneā ā just the sort of vital independent journalism that challenges Putinās claims of a strong and vibrant Russia fighting a just war.
People are also reading…
Russian prosecutors claimed Gershkovich, acting on instructions from Washington, used āpainstaking conspiratorial methodsā to obtain āsecret informationā about Uralvagonzavod, a Russian weapons factory near Yekaterinburg, where he was arrested and tried.
The existence of this massive industrial complex is well known, but the charge of espionage allowed Russian prosecutors to keep the entire proceeding secret while fueling Putinās propaganda about efforts by the United States and Europe to destabilize Russia.
Putinās crackdown on free expression, especially about the war in Ukraine, is unrelenting. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Russia is the worldās fourth-worst jailer of journalists, with at least 22 in detention, including Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, a U.S.-Russian dual citizen and an editor with the U.S.-government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Over the past few weeks, the Kremlin has banned 81 European Union media outlets, including Der Spiegel and Politico, for āsystematically disseminating false information about the progress of the special military operationā ā the only legal way to refer to the war against Ukraine. Russian authorities have also designated The Moscow Times, an English-language publication that now publishes from outside Russia, an āundesirable organization.ā making it dangerous for anyone in Russia to have any contact with it. Masha Gessen, a New York Times opinion columnist, was tried in absentia and sentenced to eight years in prison recently for criticizing the Russian military. ...
Just as important to Putinās political aims: He has been able to use Gershkovich as a hostage, as he did with the American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was freed in 2022 after 10 months in prison in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the United States.
There is a sliver of good news here. This trial could have dragged on for years if Putin had so desired. That it ended just hours after closing arguments strongly suggests that a deal has been reached on swapping the American reporter for a Russian imprisoned in the West. On Wednesday the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said the United States and Russia were holding talks on a possible swap. The most likely candidate is believed to be Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of an exiled Chechen commander in Berlin. If a swap happens, we welcome the possibility that Gershkovich could be quickly released and returned to his family in the United States.
But Gershkovich has already spent 16 months in detention in Moscowās Lefortovo prison, and the conviction means he would have to serve his sentence in a high-security penal colony. Several other Americans are also being held in Russia, and one or more of them could also be released as part of a deal.
Any celebration over Gershkovichās potential release is overshadowed by the utter cynicism of Russian authoritiesā decision to detain him in the first place.
Putinās police state has made a habit of seizing hostages any time one of its agents is caught. And yet the determination of reporters such as Gershkovich, and the many Russians who are risking their freedom to describe the realities behind Putinās elaborate myths, has not been crushed. They have no illusions about the risks, but they understand the critical importance of puncturing Putinās lies. That is journalism, not espionage, and it deserves the unwavering support of the United States and the world.