CRACKDOWN

‘New Yorker’ Writer Convicted in Absentia by Russian Court

Masha Gessen was sentenced to eight years for discussing Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine.

Masha Gessen, a Russian-American writer for The New Yorker and frequent Vladimir Putin critic, was just sentenced to eight years in prison by a Russian court over charges of spreading false information about the nation’s military. Their conviction was in absentia, meaning they were not physically present at the time of the sentencing and they are unlikely to be imprisoned unless they travel to a country with an extradition treaty with Moscow. The court’s ruling stems from a September 2022 interview wherein Gessen discussed the atrocities in Bucha, Ukraine, with Yury Dud, a Russian journalist. Earlier in the year, Ukrainian troops found the bodies of at least 400 people—including children—when they retook the town from retreating Russian soldiers. Prior to this conviction, in December 2023, Gessen’s name was added to Russian authorities’ wanted list. Russia is able to charge Gessen under a new law that states any public critical statements against the country’s actions during the war are illegal. Gessen has yet to comment on the conviction.