Washington reiterated its requests for consular access to American journalist Evan Gershkovich, detained “arbitrarily” according to Antony Blinken.
by IM with AFP
© DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP
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Lhe United States formally denounced on Monday the “arbitrary detention” of Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges, and called for his “immediate release”. Washington also again demanded consular access for the American journalist, whose detention was formally notified to the American authorities. Access denied.
“The (Russian) ministry has provided notification of detention, but still not consular access in violation of its obligations,” department spokesman Vedant Patel said, urging Russian authorities to do so.
“Arbitrary detention”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has “determined that Evan Gershkovich is arbitrarily detained by Russia”, insists a statement from Vedant Patel. “Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued crackdown on independent voices in Russia and its war on truth,” the statement continued, adding that the U.S. government would provide “all necessary support” to the journalist. Wall Street Journal and to his relatives.
This qualification of “arbitrary detention”, which was expected, triggers a series of procedures within the American administration and in particular allows the authorities to exchange information with the journalist’s relatives.
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Evan Gershkovich is “a distinguished journalist, his arrest represents an attack on the free press and should provoke outrage among all peoples and free states throughout the world,” the editor of the newspaper said in a letter. Wall Street JournalEmma Tucker, and the boss of Dow Jones (parent company of the “WSJ”), Almar Latour, in reaction to the announcement of the State Department.
Blinken had himself called the journalist’s detention “unjust”, on the sidelines of a NATO meeting last week in Brussels.
« Ridicules »
American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a former AFP employee, was arrested in Russia on March 29. He was formally charged with “espionage” last Friday, a charge he and his employer Wall Street Journal forcefully rejected.
According to the Russian news agency Interfax, Gershkovich is more specifically prosecuted on the basis of article 276 of the Russian criminal code, a charge punishable by 20 years in prison. This indictment paves the way for a trial, the date of which has not yet been announced.
The reporter was arrested by Russian security services while reporting in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals. The authorities accused him in particular of gathering information on the Russian defense industry. Washington dismissed these allegations as “ridiculous”.
What about Paul Whelan?
The head of American diplomacy has also reiterated a call for the release of another detainee in Russia, Paul Whelan, whom the United States also considers to be arbitrarily imprisoned.
The arrest of the American journalist follows an exchange which took place in December between the American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was in detention in Russia, and the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, prisoner in the United States.
READ ALSOBHL – Sacred union for Evan GershkovichWashington has repeatedly accused Moscow of arbitrarily arresting Americans to use as bargaining chip and recover Russians detained in the United States.