Russia arrested a Wall Street Journal reporter on claims of espionage
Russia arrested a Wall Street Journal reporter on Thursday, claiming allegations of espionage against the country. The reporter, Evan Gershkovich, who was working as part of the news organization’s Moscow bureau, denies wrongdoing and seeks immediate release from Russian custody.
Gershkovich’s arrest marks “the first time a U.S. correspondent has been detained on spying accusations since the Cold War,” The Associated Press reported.
Why did Russia arrest Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich?
Russia’s Federal Security Service, known by the acronym FSB, detained Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg, claiming he tried to “obtain classified information,” per the AP.
“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 Wall Street Journal said. “We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.”
Upon his arrest, the Federal Security Service has yet to reveal any evidence to back espionage claims, per NBC News.
In a statement surrounding the arrest, per The Washington Post, the Federal Security Service said:
“The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation stopped the illegal activities of the correspondent of the Moscow bureau of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, born in 1991, who is suspected of spying for the American government. It was established that Gershkovich, acting at the request of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex. The foreign national was detained in Yekaterinburg while attempting to obtain classified information.”
What will happen if Wall Street Journal reporter is convicted in Russia?
If Gershkovich is convicted of the charges, he could face up to 20 years in Russian prison — a country known for having a rocky justice system where “espionage trials are typically held in secret,” according to the Post.
Recently, Gershkovich has reported on the Wagner Group, a mercenary contract company with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin that has “played a key role in the war in Ukraine,” CBS News reported.
Who is Evan Gershkovich?
The 31-year-old Gershkovich and his family immigrated from Russia to the United States when he was a child and still speaks fluent Russian, per CBS News. He has been covering Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union for The Wall Street Journal, and he previously reported for Agence France-Press, the Moscow Times and worked as a news assistant at The New York Times, per his bio on the Journal’s website.
