Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years in Russian penal colony on espionage charges

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in a Russian penal colony on charges of espionage after a guilty verdict was announced in the American journalist's trial on Friday. The State Prosecutors Office in Russia were looking for a sentence of 18 years but was given 16 instead.

The trial of Wall Street Journal reporter moved to closing arguments early Friday morning after only two days of hearings in a case his newspaper and the United States have denounced as a sham. Gershkovich has already been in detention for 15 months.

The exceptional speed of the trial has prompted speculation that Russia may be hurrying to convict Gershkovich in order to conduct a prison exchange that may have been agreed. In the past, Russia has preferred to only trade people once they have been convicted. However, the State Department on Thursday said it doesn’t have any assessment of why the trial was moved up so quickly.