Russia sentences US journalist in absentia for comments on Ukraine war.

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New York Times opinion columnist Masha A. Gessen was sentenced in absentia on July 15 by a Moscow court to eight years in prison over comments Gessen made about Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine. According to the New York Times, Gessen was convicted by the Basmanny District Court for spreading "false information" about Russia's military, having described the massacre committed by Russian Armed Forces in Bucha and neighboring communities during an interview in 2022 with a Russian journalist.

Russian authorities charged the Russian-born American journalist in August 2022 - with the verdict being reached within minutes of deliberations on Monday. In a statement, Gessen, who resides in the U.S., wrote that the verdict serves "to intimidate me and to prevent me from practicing my profession," the New York Times reported. "To oblige a journalist to use only official sources, and even more so to use only sources on the other side of the military conflict, means, in effect, to ban journalism," Gessen added. Gessen's conviction in absentia comes as Russia continues its crackdown on independent, Western journalism within Russia.

On June 26, the Russian trial for jailed U.S. 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 Wagner mercenary group's recruiting methods, as well as Russian citizens' views on the full-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, a likely outcome given that Russian courts have a conviction rate of over 99%. Dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva also remains in pre-trial detention. While in Russia during a family emergency, Kurmasheva was charged under the country's foreign agents law in October 2023.

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