Russia seeks 18-year sentence for US reporter on trial for spying in highly politicized legal system

Russian prosecutors are seking a prison sentence of 18 years for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. He is on trial on espionage charges that his employer and the U.S. have denounced as fabricated. The 32-year-old journalist was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed without offering any evidence that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. According to the court, he pleaded not guilty. The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have called the trial a sham. Gershkovich appeared in court for a second straight day Friday as the closed-door proceedings in Russia’s highly politicized legal system picked up speed. A verdict is expected later in the day.