The United States determined that Jewish journalist Evan Gershkovich was “unjustly” detained by Russia and called for his immediate release. Gershkovich was arrested last month in the city of Yekaterinburg while working for the Wall Street Journal. He has since been officially accused of espionage, but the newspaper strongly denies this
The United States determined that Jewish journalist Evan Gershkovich was “unjustly detained” by Russia and called for his immediate release. Gershkovich, was arrested last month in the city of Yekaterinburg while working for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). He has since been formally charged with espionage, but the paper and the State Department strongly deny this.
This is the first time that Moscow has accused an American journalist of espionage since the Soviet era. The meaning of the designation “unjustly detained” in the US means that the case will now be transferred to the Office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs. This will take precedence over other cases and will allow the government to allocate additional resources to bring about his release.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has determined that “Evan Gershkovich was unlawfully detained by Russia,” State Department spokesman Danette Patel said in a statement. “We call on the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr. Gershkovich,” he added. “Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued suppression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth.”
In a statement on behalf of the newspaper’s editors, it was stated: “This decision will open up additional resources and bring attention at the highest levels of the US government to securing his release. We are doing everything we can to support Owen and his family and will continue to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant parties in the US to push for his release.” .
Russia did not grant US consular officials access to Gershkovich, which violates international law, Patel told the media. Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the issue of consular access would be resolved, but added that “the uproar in the US over this case, which aims to pressure the authorities The Russians were hopeless and senseless.”
In his latest newspaper article, Gershkovich reported on Russia’s deteriorating economy and how the Kremlin had to deal with “rising military spending.” The Reporters Without Borders organization said that Evan traveled to Yekaterinburg to cover the Kach Wagner group, the notorious mercenaries that participated in the heaviest fighting in eastern Ukraine. Apparently the Kremlin didn’t like it and arrested him on false charges of espionage.