Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was convicted Friday of espionage and sentenced to 16 years on charges that his employer and the US have rejected as fabricated.
The conclusion of his swift and secretive trial in the country’s highly politicized legal system perhaps cleared the way for a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.
When the judge in the Sverdlovsk Regional Court asked Gershkovich if he understood the verdict, he said yes.