On Friday, in a case that the United States government and his employer have denounced as a sham, a Russian court found Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first U.S. journalist to face such a charge since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986, guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.

Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 in Yekaterinburg and later accused of being a CIA spy; Russian prosecutors alleged that “under instructions from the CIA” and “using painstaking conspiratorial methods,” Gershkovich “was collecting secret information” regarding a Russian defense contractor. The U.S. State Department called for his immediate release; no public evidence has been presented by Russia that supported its case. He was held in Moscow’s infamous Stalin-era Lefortovo Prison in a small cell and only allowed one hour of walking every day.

“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,” Journal publisher Almar Latour and Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker stated,  “We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family. Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now.”

Russia rebuffed a request from Gershkovich’s legal team that he be moved from the prison to house arrest or be granted bail.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted that he would swap Gershkovich for Russians held in other countries, referencing Vadim Krasikov, an FSB operative. But on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the idea of an exchange by asserting, “I’m leaving that question without an answer. There is a charge of espionage, so this is a very, very sensitive area.”

“Penal colonies are usually located in remote areas far from densely populated regions,” the Journal noted. “Due to their location and inaccessibility, colonies are less frequently inspected by human-rights groups. When they have visited, observers report poor conditions, including mold in the cells and problems with food and medical care, as well as ill treatment of inmates by prison staff.”