A Russian court has concluded the trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich after more than a year of legal proceedings.

The court found Gershkovich, 32, guilty of “gathering secret information” during his reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains.

He has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Prosecutors alleged that Gershkovich obtained classified information on behalf of the United States about Uralvagonzavod, a facility located approximately 90 miles north of Yekaterinburg that manufactures and repairs tanks and other military equipment.

The U.S. government considers Gershkovich “wrongfully detained” and is actively seeking his immediate release through diplomatic channels. Both Gershkovich and The Wall Street Journal have vehemently denied all charges.

“Evan’s wrongful detention has been an outrage since his unjust arrest 477 days ago, and it must end now,” The Wall Street Journal stated Thursday in a press release.

The statement continued, “Even as Russia orchestrates its shameful sham trial, we continue to do everything we can to push for Evan’s immediate release and to state unequivocally: Evan was doing his job as a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Bring him home now.”

The United States has previously suggested a potential prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich and Vadim Krasikov, a Russian citizen imprisoned in 2019 for the assassination of a Georgian citizen residing in Berlin, who had fought against Russian forces in Chechnya.

Judges have stated that Krasikov acted under the direction of Russian authorities.

Gershkovich is the first known Western journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia. He is currently being held in a Russian prison.

Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.