A Russian court has sentenced US journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison, Russian news agencies report from the court in Yekaterinburg. The prosecution had asked for 18 years for the Wall Street Journal reporter who was convicted of espionage – a charge he, his newspaper and the US government deny. The trial took place behind closed doors. Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023. He was convicted of gathering information on the Uralvagonzavod defence equipment factory in Nizhny Tagil, which lies 130 kilometres to the north of Yekaterinburg, on behalf of the US Central Intelligence Age…