The United States declared on Monday the arrest in Russia of the American journalist Evan Gershkovich as a case of “wrongful detention”, which allows the federal government to redouble the resources to obtain his release.
The correspondent of Wall Street Journal He was arrested on March 30 in Yekaterinburg, the capital of the Urals, accused by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB) of espionage, a charge for which he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
“I have determined that the Russian Federation improperly detained Evan Gershkovich,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on social media.
I made the determination that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained Evan Gershkovich. We call for his and Paul Whelan’s immediate release.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 10, 2023
In the same message, the leader of US diplomacy demands the “immediate release” of the journalist and ex-marine Paul Whelan, imprisoned in Russia since 2018 also on charges of espionage.
In a statement, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel explained that, with this announcement, “the United States Government will provide all necessary support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family.” “Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on independent voices in Russia and its war on the truth,” he said.
When the State Department classifies the arrest of an American abroad as a case of “wrongful detention”, the protocols within the Government are activated to develop a strategy to obtain their release.
On the day of Gershkovich’s arrest, the United States summoned the Russian ambassador to the country, Anatoly Antonov, to give explanations, while Blinken called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on April 2 to demand his release.