Russia sentences Jewish-American journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in maximum security prison

( JTA ) — Less than a month after his closed-door trial began, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been charged with espionage by a Russian court and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison.

Gershkovich, 32, is the American-born son of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union. His case has drawn support from the Jewish community and supporters of democracy and the free press who are pushing for his release. The Jewish Federations of North America called the verdict a “sham.”

The reporter, his employer and the United States all deny that he is a spy, and U.S. authorities have been trying to secure his release through a prisoner swap. Gershkovich is the first American reporter since the Cold War to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia. On Monday, Russian courts sentenced the Russian-American writer Masha Gessen , who is also Jewish, to eight years in prison in absentia, making Gessen, who uses they/them pronouns, at least the fifth prominent Jewish writer targeted by Russia for dissenting comments since the outbreak of the current Russia-Ukraine war.

“This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist,” Almar Latour, the chief executive of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker said in a statement.

“He was targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday . “We are pushing hard for Evan’s release and will continue to do so.”

Jewish communities have expressed support for Gershkovich since his arrest in Yekaterinburg in March 2023. Some Jewish families left an empty seat at the Passover seder table in 2023 , echoing a campaign from the 1960s in support of Soviet Jews, and took part in a letter-writing campaign for Rosh Hashanah in 2023 .

The Jewish Federations of North America issued a statement in response to Gershkovich’s conviction Friday, saying they were “appalled, but not surprised, at today’s ridiculous verdict against Evan Gershkovich after a sham secret trial held behind closed doors in Russia. Evan has been wrongfully detained for over a year, and we are outraged by Russia continuing his imprisonment under false espionage pretenses.”

JFNA also urged “every citizen to call upon their respective members of Congress to push the White House administration to act swiftly to bring Evan home where he belongs.”