A Russian court sentenced a Jewish Wall Street Journal reporter on Friday to 16 years in a high-security prison.

Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old whose parents emigrated from the USSR in 1979, has already spent over 17 excruciating months behind bars in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison since his March 2022 arrest.

Unfortunately, the roster of Americans trapped in Russia’s prison system continues to grow. Human rights advocate’s contend that these unfair trails has become emblematic of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s desire to resurrect one of the Soviet Union’s darkest tactics.

Putin has repeatedly used imprisoned Americans as leverage in dealings with President Joe Biden. A prime example of this occurred in December, when WNBA star Brittney Griner was freed from Russian captivity after Biden made the contentious decision to release Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer infamously known as the “Merchant of Death.”

Paul Whelan, who previously served in the US Marine Corps, remains behind bars serving a 16-year sentence on similar trumped-up espionage charges. Meanwhile, Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist working for Radio Free Europe, is also imprisoned for editing a book critical of Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.