Utopia Talk / Politics / Trump will make a deal for US journalist

LazyCommunist Member	Fri Jul 19 09:36:26 16 years is a lot for a 32 year old guy. You Americans will decide how long he will have to rot in our jails. Vote Trump and then Trump will make a deal with Putin, they will shake hands and then Gershkovich will be free again. But vote for Biden and Gershkovich may have an "accident" in jail It's your choice. http://edi...-trial-verdict-intl/index.html WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years for espionage by Russian court in case denounced by US as a sham 4 minute read Fri July 19, 2024 Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, has been found guilty of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court, in a case that the US government, his newspaper and supporters have denounced as a sham. The court in Yekaterinburg announced the guilty verdict and sentencing on Friday shortly after 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET). The court heard closing arguments and 32-year-old Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, delivered his closing remarks behind closed doors on Friday morning. The case’s rapid conclusion comes just weeks after Gershkovich first appeared in a glass cage with his head recently shaved at the start of his trial on June 26. On that day, Gershkovich stood cross-armed, occasionally smiling and waving to the crowd of reporters. The speed of the trial has raised questions over whether the Kremlin is intending to use him as part of a prisoner swap deal with the United States, suggestions which spokesman Dmitry Peskov left without comment when asked about them on a Friday conference call ahead of the verdict announcement. In June, Moscow confirmed again that contacts are ongoing regarding a potential prisoner exchange deal for Gershkovich, but Peskov repeatedly insisted that those conversations were to be carried out in “absolute silence” to prevent complications. Gershkovich was arrested while reporting for the WSJ, during a trip to Yekaterinburg in March 2023, and later accused of spying for the CIA. Russian authorities have never offered any public evidence to support their claims. Within two weeks of his arrest in March 2023, the US State Department designated him as wrongfully detained and called for his immediate release. The verdict has yet to enter into force, and the defense can appeal the conviction within 15 days, judge Andrey Mineyev said while delivering his verdict. The court also ordered Gershkovich to pay procedural costs of 6,708 rubles ($77), and for some of his personal items, including an iPhone and a notepad, to be destroyed. According to the judge, the time Gershkovich has already spent in detention since last March will count towards his sentence. Following his arrest, Gershkovich was held in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison, spending almost every hour of the day in a small cell, before being transferred to the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals more than 1,100 miles east of the capital. He passed the time by writing letters to his friends and family, his parents said in an interview with the WSJ, adding that he was allowed just one hour of walking per day. Gershkovich, the US government, and the WSJ have vehemently denied the charges against him. US and Western officials have accused Russia of using Gershkovich and other jailed foreigners as bargaining chips for possible prisoner exchanges. A high-profile swap in 2022 saw US basketball star Brittney Griner exchanged for arms dealer Viktor Bout. But Russia refused to release another jailed US citizen, Paul Whelan, as it was seeking a former colonel from Russia’s domestic spy organization in return. In an interview with right-wing US media personality Tucker Carlson in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested “an agreement can be reached” with the United States to release Gershkovich and alluded to the case of a Russian national convicted of carrying out an assassination in Berlin in 2019. The trial of Gershkovich, the American-born son of Soviet-era emigres to the US, has highlighted the extent to which Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has harmed relations between Moscow and Washington. In their indictment, Russian prosecutors said that “under instructions from the CIA” and “using painstaking conspiratorial methods,” Gershkovich “was collecting secret information” about a Russian tank factory.
Rugian Member	Fri Jul 19 10:08:06 He probably shouldn't have been spying for the US then *shrug* Joking aside, I'm a little sick of how prominent this story has been in the MSM; the WSJ specifically has treated it as one of the most important stories of the era since his arrest. Look, I know journalists really care about this because they know Evan and this sort of thing personally affects them...but it doesn't affect *me*, and I don't really care about some random journalist.
LazyCommunist Member	Fri Jul 19 10:20:56 Rugian that is the wrong attitude. We need you guys to pressure your government for a prisoner exchange, we want Krasikov back. Now he is a prisoner in Germany, that is why you must vote for Trump. Only Trump will force Germany to agree to the prisoner exchange deal with Putin, Biden wouldn't do that.
murder Member	Fri Jul 19 14:23:01 Yeah, I don't care. If you don't want to become a prisoner in Russia, don't go to Russia.
patom Member	Fri Jul 19 17:20:17 I have a tendency to agree with murder. Just like I feel no sympathy for Americans who wander into Iran or Israel for that matter. There are parts of the world that really don't have to be visited. Putin is trying to swing a deal like Iran did with the embassy hostages to get Trump elected.
tumbleweed the wanderer	Fri Jul 19 19:09:01 here's Trump's empty promise to do so: " Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was just sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian Court. Biden will NEVER GET HIM OUT, unless he pays a “king’s ransom.” I will get him out FOR NO COMPENSATION immediately following our victory on November 5th, and it will be my great honor to do so. Vote for TRUMP, and The Wall Street Journal should STOP BEING STUPID!!! " no deal even needed
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