Russia arrests Wall Street Journal reporter on spying charge
Diplomat Times (Moscow)- An American reporter for The Wall Street Journal has been arrested in Russia on charges of spying for Washington, Russia’s FSB security services said Thursday. The announcement marks a serious escalation in Kremlin’s efforts to silence perceived critics, a crackdown that gained momentum following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
The FSB security services said they had “halted the illegal activities of U.S. citizen Evan Geshkovich,” saying The Wall Street Journal reporter was “suspected of spying in the interests of the American government.”
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The service, which is the top domestic security agency and main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, alleged that Gershkovich “was acting on the U.S. orders to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday: “It is not about a suspicion, is it about the fact that he was caught red-handed.”
“The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich,” the newspaper said. “We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.”
The arrest comes at a moment of bitter tensions between the West and Moscow over its war in Ukraine and as the Kremlin intensifies a crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and civil society groups. The sweeping campaign of repression is unprecedented since the Soviet era.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday in a post on the Telegram messaging app that what Gershkovich “was doing in Yekaterinburg has nothing to do with journalism. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the status of a ‘foreign correspondent’, a journalistic visa and accreditation are used by foreigners in our country to cover up activities that are not journalism.”
Government spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the matter one for Russia’s security services, but he said the Kremlin “understood” that Gershkovich had been “caught red-handed,” without offering any further detail. Peskov warned the U.S. not to take any retaliatory measures against Russian journalists in the U.S., saying it “must not happen.”
Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya said on social media in response to the detention that “the way the FSB interprets espionage today means that anyone who is simply interested in military affairs can be imprisoned for 20 years.”
Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for @WSJ – Wall Street Journal – who has been living in Moscow for six years, has been detained in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage. An important Thread 🧵 @evangershkovich
— R.Politik (@R__Politik) March 30, 2023
Before joining The Wall Street Journal Gershkovich, 31, worked for AFP in Moscow. A fluent Russian speaker, he was previously a reporter based in the Russian capital for The Moscow Times, an English-language news website. His family immigrated to the United States from Russia when he was a child.
Who Is Journalist Evan Gershkovich
According to Wall Street Journal website, Gershkovich is a reporter who covers Russia, Ukraine and former nations of the Soviet Union.
Evan Gershkovich is a reporter covering Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. He was previously a reporter for Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times and a news assistant at the New York Times.
Before joining The Wall Street Journal Gershkovich, 31, worked for AFP in Moscow. A fluent Russian speaker, he was previously a reporter based in the Russian capital for The Moscow Times, an English-language news website. His family immigrated to the United States from Russia when he was a child.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) tweeted
🔴Arrested in #Russia🇷🇺, the American🇺🇸 reporter Evan Gershkovich is accused of spying by the FSB. The @WSJ ’s correspondent was investigating on the military company Wagner. RSF is alarmed by what looks like retaliation: journalists must not be targeted! pic.twitter.com/urmGFNEdNz
— RSF (@RSF_inter) March 30, 2023
Several U.S. citizens are currently in detention in Russia and both Washington and Moscow have accused the other of carrying out politically-motivated arrests.
The FSB in January opened a criminal case against a U.S. citizen it said was suspected of espionage but did not name the individual.
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the CBS news. Diplomat Times holds no responsibility for its content.
