Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands listening to the verdict in a glass cage of a courtroom inside the building of "Palace of justice," in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Friday, 19 July, 2024. A Russian court convicted Gershkovich on espionage charges that his employer and the US have rejected as fabricated. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a secretive and rapid trial in the country's highly politicised legal system. AP
France has slammed Russia's conviction of American reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in jail for 'espionage', with the foreign ministry calling the court ruling 'appalling'.
On Saturday, French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said in a statement that Paris "calls on Russian authorities to free Evan Gershkovich as well as all political prisoners, Russian or foreign".
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