Evan Gershkovich, a US journalist, has been sentenced to 16 years by a Russian court which found him guilty of espionage in a closeddoor trial declared a sham by US officials.

The 32yearold Wall Street Journal reporter will be jailed in a highsecurity penal colony after being convicted of gathering “secret information” on orders from the CIA – allegations he, his employer and Washington vehemently deny.

Mr Gershkovich’s lawyers have 15 days to appeal.

He is the first Western journalist to be sentenced or detained in Russia for alleged spying since the Cold War and was tried in secret over three days, receiving few of the protections usually afforded to defendants.

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