A Russian court has sentenced Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to serve 16 years in a hard labor prison camp following his conviction on trumped-up espionage charges this week.

The sentence was handed down on Friday, and was two years less than what state prosecutors had requested. Gershkovich faced up to 20 years in prison for the alleged crime of spying.

Gershkovich was arrested last year on suspicion of espionage. Officials in the United States and executives at the WSJ both deny the charges, calling them meritless and politically-motivated.

“We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family,” Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour and WSJ Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker said in a joint statement. “Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now.”

The sentencing of @WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich is despicable and only serves to underscore Russia’s utter contempt for media freedom.

Journalism should not be a crime.

Gershkovich must be released immediately.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 19, 2024

Throughout the process, the WSJ asserts Gershkovich worked as a credentialed journalist covering the ongoing conflict between Russia and neighboring Ukraine. Russian prosecutors claim Gershkovich overstepped his role as a journalist by collecting intelligence about military weapons for the Central Intelligence Agency, something the country has not presented public evidence to support.

The U.S. State Department designated Gershkovich as a wrongfully-detained American citizen last year.