American journalist convicted by Russia for espionage: what is the “harsh regime” imposed on Evan Gershkovich ?

Evan Gershkovich a été condamné à 16 ans de prison dans une colonie pénitentiaire à “régime sévère” pour espionnage MAXPPP – STRINGER

the essential A Russian court on Friday sentenced American journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison, marking the end of a speedy closed-door trial for “espionage”, an accusation never substantiated by Russia. He will have to serve his sentence in a colony following a "severe regime" of incarceration.

This Saturday, July 20, Paris denounces the "revolting condemnation" of the American journalist from the Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in a penal colony for espionage, and calls for his release.

"The repressive drift of the Russian regime continues to intensify. France is very concerned by the ever-increasing obstacles to freedom of expression, freedom of information and access to independent information in Russia&amp ;quot;, writes the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.

#Russie | La France dénonce la condamnation révoltante du journaliste américain Evan Gershkovich à 16 ans de colonie pénitentiaire.
Déclaration intégrale ➡️ https://t.co/QyAbvivfjZ pic.twitter.com/1wu5O8CXYv

— France Diplomatie🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@francediplo) July 20, 2024

Aged 32, Evan Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be arrested for espionage in Russia since the Cold War, Russian news agencies reported Friday. Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the US government refute espionage accusation. The United States is pushing for the release of the journalist, US President Joe Biden announced on Friday.

Strict detention conditions

Following a speedy trial, the journalist was sentenced to serve a 16-year prison sentence in a penal colony with a harsh regime. ;quot;.

This condition means that the detention is even stricter than the normal regime. It is in this type of colony that the opponent Alexeï Navalny was imprisoned on several occasions. Amnesty International regularly denounced the inhumane detention conditions to which he was subjected.

"The Russian prison authorities are using the cruel methods they have been perfecting for years to try to break the morale of Alexei Navalny, by rendering his existence in the penal colony unbearable, humiliating and dehumanizing", declared Amnesty International regarding the conditions of detention of the opponent, in a colony at " severe diet".

Prohibited from communicating with his family, his lawyers, or even with other prisoners, confinement in a punishment cell for a simple unbuttoned button… the NGO denounces the pretexts used in these colonies to morally destroy the detainees.

"Hardness depends on the head of the establishment"

According to Le Point, there are 35 colonies with "special regime" in Russia, including six for those sentenced to life, like the one where Alexeï Navalny was.

Anna Karetnikova, member of the Memorial NGO, explains at Point that "in The colonies are all governed by strict internal regulations, which can further be manipulated by the staff. The condemned person has no rights nor any means of exercising them. The harshness of prisons thus depends greatly on the head of the establishment and colony guards, who can make already very difficult detention conditions completely unlivable&amp ;quot;.

Regarding Evan Gershkovich, the journalist said he was innocent and exercised his right to a "final speech" before the verdict. He will soon join a penal colony, if neither he nor the prosecution appeal within two weeks. This transfer may take several days, or even several weeks.

For Washington, his arrest aimed above all to monetize a possible exchange of prisoners, in the midst of tensions between Russia and the United States linked to the armed conflict in Ukraine.

Moscow admitted to negotiating his release and Vladimir Putin himself mentioned the case of Vadim Krassikov, in prison in Germany, for a commissioned assassination attributed to the Russian special services.