US journalist Masha Gessen is convicted in absentia in Russia for criticizing military 

FILE - Masha Gessen attends the 68th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street on Nov. 15, 2017, in New York.

U.S. journalist and author Masha Gessen was convicted in absentia Monday by a Moscow court on charges of spreading false information about the military and was sentenced to eight years in prison.