Evan Gershkovich, a United States journalist to be charged with espionage accusations in Russia throughout the outbreak of the Cold War, was recently found guilty of spying and sentenced to 16 years in jail in a Russian court. The decision, widely decried by the U.S. government, his company, and supporters as a hoax, was given by the judiciary in Yekaterinburg on Friday at roughly 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET).

Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old journalist for the Wall Street Journal, presented his concluding words behind the curtains on the morning of Friday before the court declared the guilty judgment and punishment. His trial, which started on June 26, was completed rapidly, sparking worries that the Kremlin may use him as leverage in a prospective prisoner exchange with the United States. When questioned about this prospect, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to answer the question during a conference call before the judgment announcement.

In June, Moscow stated that negotiations over a prospective prisoner swap arrangement for Evan Gershkovich were underway, while Peskov repeatedly underlined that these contacts should proceed in “absolute silence” to prevent difficulties. Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 while reported in Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage for the CIA. Russian officials have not presented public proof to corroborate their accusations.

The U.S. State Department identified Evan Gershkovich as unlawfully held within two weeks after his detention, urging for his immediate release. Following the sentence on Friday, his company, the Wall Street Journal, published a statement criticizing the judgment as disgusting. “This sham sentence comes after Evan went over 478 days wrongfully imprisoned away from his loved ones, prohibited from reporting, and punished for doing his duties as a reporter,” the statement stated. “We will continue to advocate for Evan’s release and stand by his family. Journalism is not illegal, and we won’t stop reporting until he’s liberated. This must stop immediately.”

At a meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday, American Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield talked about Evan Gershkovich case, stating, “Evan Gershkovich has been convicted for 16 years. He has committed no crime. He is being persecuted because he is a reporter and an American. Simple as that.”

The International Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) denounced the conviction, stressing Russia’s position as the world’s fourth-worst jailer of reporters, with at least 22 now imprisoned. “Journalists are not puppets in geopolitical games. It’s time to quit hostage diplomacy and rescue him immediately,” stated CPJ Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna.

The attorney for the defense has 15 days to file an appeal of the conviction, as stated by Judge Andrey Mineyev. In addition to the jail term, the court instructed Gershkovich to pay procedural expenses of 6,708 rubles ($77) and mandated that some of his personal goods, including an iPhone and a notebook, be burned. The time he was previously in custody will count towards his punishment.

Evan Gershkovich had been imprisoned at Moscow’s infamous Lefortovo jail, spending practically every hour in a cramped cell before being transported to Yekaterinburg, some 1,100 kilometers east of the city. During his imprisonment, he spent the time sending letters to his relatives and close friends, along with his parents, stating that he was permitted just one hour of walking every day.

Both Evan Gershkovich and the U.S. government have fiercely contested the claims against him. U.S. and Western officials have been accusing Russia of making use of Gershkovich and other incarcerated foreigners as bargaining chips for prospective prisoner swaps. In a high-profile trade in 2022, U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was swapped for weapons dealer Viktor Bout. However, Russia refused to release another arrested U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan, instead wanting a former colonel from Russia’s internal espionage operation in exchange.

Whelan, who contacted CNN from his distant prison camp in Mordovia on Friday, expressed sympathy for Evan Gershkovich and believed that the current events may open the way for a compromise to ensure their releases. Reflecting on his personal experience, Whelan stated, “The only thing I was able to think about was, when I was there in court, listening to the judge read the fictitious narrative of my guilt and hearing that I would have to do 16 years in jail. And there’s a weird sensation of knowing that you’re 100% innocent and that this stage act, this drama was going down around you.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that “an agreement can be reached” with the United States to free Gershkovich, referring to the case of a Russian citizen convicted of carrying out an assassination in Berlin in 2019. Gershkovich, born to Soviet-era émigrés to the U.S., stands as a painful emblem of the worsened ties between Moscow and Washington after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In their indictment, Russian authorities accused Gershkovich of gathering classified information on a Russian tank manufactured “under directions from the CIA” and using “painstaking conspiratorial techniques.” However, the absence of public proof to corroborate these charges has further exacerbated criticism and requests for his immediate release from jail.