Committee to Protect Journalists – Defending Journalists Worldwide.

‘Outrageous’: Russia sentences US journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years

U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, sentenced to 16 years on fabricated charges, stands inside a glass defendants' cage during the verdict announcement at a Russian court on July 19, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Alexander Nemenov) — U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, sentenced to 16 years on fabricated charges, stands inside a glass defendants’ cage during the verdict announcement at a Russian court on July 19, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Alexander Nemenov)

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns as outrageous a Russian judge’s July 19 decision to jail U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich for 16 years on fabricated espionage charges.

“Russia’s decision to jail Evan Gershkovich for 16 years on sham charges is outrageous,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna. “Journalists are not pawns in geopolitical games. It’s time to stop hostage diplomacy and free him immediately.”

Gershkovich’s closed-door trial started on June 26 in the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. A second hearing took place on July 18, when the court announced that it had completed its judicial investigation.

Gershkovich, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, has been jailed in Russia since the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested him on espionage charges on March 29, 2023, while he was on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg. A June 2024 indictment accused Gershkovich of collecting “secret information” for the CIA. The journalist, his outlet, and the U.S. government have all denied the accusations and the U.S. State Department designated him “wrongfully detained.”

As Venezuela election nears, restrictions and self-censorship limit coverage of opposition

Self-censorship and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's (right) control of the media has distorted election coverage in the country and deprived voters of vital information about the presidential candidates, including opposition front-runner Edmundo González (left). Photo: Reuters) — Venezuela’s opposition front-runner Edmundo González (left) and President Nicolás Maduro. (Photos: Reuters)

On May 17, veteran Venezuelan radio host Antonio Di Giampaolo planned to broadcast an interview with opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González, but executives at the station Éxitos 93.1 FM nixed the plan with no explanation, according to the journalist.

Di Giampaolo believes the radio station did not want to risk offending President Nicolás Maduro, who will face González at the polls on July 28 in a critical presidential election.

To journalists and press freedom groups who spoke with CPJ, the episode typifies how government control of the media and self-censorship has distorted election coverage in Venezuela and deprived voters of vital information about the presidential candidates, writes John Otis.

The Committee to Protect Journalists promotes press freedom worldwide.

We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Journalists Attacked

Myat Thu Tan

MURDERED

Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local news website Western News and correspondent for several independent Myanmar news outlets, was shot and killed on January 31, 2024, while in military custody in Mrauk-U in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

He was arrested on September 22, 2022, and held in pre-trial detention under a broad provision of the penal code that criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news for critical posts he made on his Facebook page. Myat Thu Tan had not been tried or convicted at the time of his death.

The journalist’s body was found buried in a bomb shelter, with the bodies of six other political detainees, and showed signs of torture.

Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on journalists and media outlets since seizing power in a February 2021 coup.

Learn more about Myat Thu Tan