Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter from the United States, has been detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage.
At the time of his arrest, he was working as a Russian correspondent in the city of Yekaterinburg.
The White House has issued a “strong condemnation” of his detention.
The Kremlin asserted that he was captured “red-handed,” but the Wall Street Journal vehemently refuted these claims.
Mr. Gershkovich, 31 years old, is well-known among foreign correspondents in Moscow.
The arrest “deeply concerns” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Officials from the United States stated that they promptly requested access to Mr. Gershkovich, but received no response.
Wednesday afternoon, a WSJ correspondent lost contact with his editors while working in Yekaterinburg, approximately 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) east of Moscow.
According to US officials, Mr. Gershkovich’s driver left him off at a restaurant, and two hours later, his phone was disconnected. The newspaper claimed to have hired an attorney to attempt to locate him at the FSB’s headquarters in the city. But the FSB informed the attorney that they had no information.
The Russian FSB security agency asserted that it had stopped “illegal activities.” The journalist was detained “on U.S. orders,” the statement continued, alleging that he had “collected state-secret information about the activities of a Russian defense enterprise.”
A source told Russian media that its investigation division had begun a “top secret” criminal espionage investigation.
On Friday, FSB agents took him to the Lefortovo district court in Moscow, where he was held until May 29.
Russian media reported that the courtroom had been cleared of all staff and visitors, and Mr. Gershkovich’s attorney stated that he had been denied entry.
In Russia, espionage entails a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. The journalist, according to the Tass news agency, denied the allegation. The man was then observed being escorted out of the building and driven away.
This week, Evan Gershkovich reported in his most recent WSJ article on Russia’s deteriorating economy and how the Kremlin was forced to deal with “exploding military expenditures” while maintaining social spending.
According to Reporters Without Borders, he traveled to Yekaterinburg to cover the Russian mercenary organization Wagner, which has participated in some of the fiercest combat in eastern Ukraine.
He has covered Russia for more than a year for the Wall Street Journal, having previously covered the country for the AFP news agency and the Moscow Times. He started his career in America.
The Wall Street Journal stated in a statement that it stands in solidarity with the reporter and his family: “The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the FSB’s allegations and demands the immediate release of our trusted and devoted reporter, Evan Gershkovich.”
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated, “This is the FSB’s responsibility; they’ve already issued a statement.” “As far as we know, he was caught red-handed,” is all I can add.
Even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it had become increasingly challenging to report from Russia.
Upon the outbreak of war, Russia enacted a criminal offense for reporting “fake news” or “discrediting the army”. As a result, dozens of Russians have been convicted for criticizing the invasion on social media.
TV Rain, Echo of Moscow radio, and Novaya Gazeta were among the few independent media sources that were silenced. Numerous Western media outlets left Russia.
Tatyana Stanovaya, a Russian political expert, stated that Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest came as a surprise. According to the FSB’s definition of espionage, “collecting information” could simply mean soliciting the opinions of experts, she explained, whereas “acting on US instructions” could simply refer to his Wall Street Journal editors.
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry, stated that what a Wall Street Journal employee was doing in Yekaterinburg had “nothing to do with journalism.”
She said “foreign correspondent” was used to “cover up activities that are not journalism” before.
In the thirteen months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tensions between the Kremlin and the West have increased. Reporters Without Borders expressed alarm over what appears to be retaliation.
Several American citizens are detained in Russia. Brittney Griner, an American basketball sensation, was arrested at a Moscow airport for transporting cannabis oil days before the invasion. She was released after 10 months in exchange for the infamous Russian armaments dealer Viktor Bout.
Sergei Ryabkov, deputy foreign minister of Russia, told local news outlets that it was too early to discuss prisoner exchanges.
“I wouldn’t even ask the question at this point,” he said.
