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Wall Street JournalreporterEvan Gershkovichhas been arrested in Russia and accused ofspying.
The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg for what Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed was “espionage in the interests of the American government.” If convicted, the charge has a maximum jail term of 20 years.
In a statement toRussian state media, FSB claimed: “It has been established that E. Gershkovich, acting on an assignment from the American side, was gathering information classified as a state secret about the activity of one of the enterprises of Russia’s military-industrial complex.”
“The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family,” astatement from theWSJsaid.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has designated theWagner Group as Transnational Criminal Organization, saying its leaderYevgeniy Prigozhinis a[Vladimir] Putincrony and the target of multiple U.S. sanctions.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images
Russia’sForeign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharovaposted a message on her Telegram channel, which — in a translation from Russian to English — claimed: “What an employee of the American edition ofThe Wall Street Journalwas doing in Yekaterinburg has nothing to do with journalism.”
Yekaterinburg is Russia’s fourth-largest cityand is a manufacturing hub known for heavy industry and steel-making.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Gershkovich “was caught red-handed,” perRussian state media.
According toGershkovich’s biography pageon theWSJwebsite, he has worked as a reporter in Russia since 2017. He has previously worked at Agence France-Presse,Moscow Timesand The New York Times.
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The arrest of Gershkovich comes after WNBA playerBrittney Grinerwas detained in Russia for 10 months. Griner, 32, wasreleased from Russian custodyin a prisoner exchange for a convicted arms dealer, after spending nearly 10 months under arrest
The U.S. travel advisory lists Russia at Level 4 - Do Not Travel, the highest possible level.
PEOPLE has contacted the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for comment.
source: people.com
