Russia convicts US journalist in absentia for comments on Ukraine war

New York Times opinion columnist Masha A. Gessen was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison by a Moscow court on July 15 for remarks Gessen made about Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

According to the New York Times, Gessen was convicted by the Basmanny District Court of spreading “false information” about the Russian military after describing the massacre committed by Russian forces in Bukha and neighboring communities in a 2022 interview with a Russian journalist.

Russian authorities filed charges against the Russian-born US journalist in August 2022 – the verdict was handed down on Monday within minutes of deliberations.

In a statement, Gessen, who lives in the United States, wrote that the ruling was intended to “intimidate me and prevent me from doing my job,” the New York Times reported. “Requiring a journalist to use only official sources, and even more so only sources from the other side of the military conflict, is essentially banning journalism,” Gessen added.

Gessen’s conviction in absentia comes as Russia continues its crackdown on independent Western journalism in Russia.

On June 26, the Russian trial of imprisoned US citizen and Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich began. Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg in late March 2023 while working on a story about the recruitment methods of the Wagner mercenary group and the views of Russian citizens on the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. The journalist has been in pre-trial detention in Russia for more than a year on espionage charges.

If convicted, Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison. Given a conviction rate of over 99 percent in Russian courts, this is a likely outcome.

US-Russian dual citizen and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva also remains in custody. While in Russia for a family emergency, Kurmasheva was charged under the Russian spy law in October 2023.

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