MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage earlier on Friday, collected secret information about a defense industry company called Uralvagonzavod on orders from the CIA, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said.

"During the trial it was established and corroborated with documents that the American reporter of the Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich, acted on the orders of the CIA in March 2023 as he collected secret information about the activities of the defense enterprise JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod in the Sverdlovsk Region, which produces and repairs military equipment. While carrying out the illegal actions, he made sure to use measures to evade detection," the agency said.

The reporter was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. He was detained in March last year.