Russia's 'assault on the media' escalates with sentencing of American journalists

Two American journalists were sentenced to extended prison sentences in secret Russian court proceedings over the last week, heightening the concern of journalists abroad.

The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to spend 16 years in prison while Alsu Kurmasheva of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in recent days. Both have denied they committed the crimes they’ve been convicted of in Russia’s skewed judicial system that overwhelmingly results in convictions, and the United States has urged Russian officials to release them.