Russia formally charges Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was formally charged with espionage in Russia, Russian state news agency Tass reported Friday.

Russia's Federal Security Service officially charged the American journalist with espionage, according to Tass, citing a law enforcement source with the information. Tass didn't specify whether the action was taken during a court hearing.

Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, was detained in Yekaterinburg – Russia’s fourth largest city, about 1,035 miles east of Moscow – last week following accusations of spying on behalf of the U.S. government, Russia’s Federal Security Service said.

The Russian agency alleged that the American journalist “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."

More: WSJ 'demands' release of Evan Gershkovich after arrest by Russia for espionage

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D, N.Y., and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.y., condemned Russia’s “wrongful detention” and demanded the “immediate” release of Gershkovich in a joint statement Friday before news of his arrest broke.

“Since his arrest, Russian authorities have failed to present any credible evidence to justify their fabricated charges,” Schumer and McConnell said in their statement. “Russia has a long and disturbing history of unjustly detaining U.S. citizens in a judicial system that provides neither transparency nor justice.”

The Senate leaders also noted that U.S. Embassy has been denied consular access to Gershkovich, a move that goes against standard diplomatic practice and potentially violates international law.

The Wall Street Journal “vehemently” denied all allegations against Gershkovich and called for his “immediate release” in a statement Saturday following the news of his arrest.

Who is Evan Gershkovich?: What we know about WSJ reporter arrested by Russia for espionage

“We know what’s going on in the world because of the fearless reporting of journalists like Evan," the newspaper said. "Evan’s case is a vicious affront to a free press, and should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world."

The detention of Gershkovich comes amid bitter tensions between the West and the Kremlin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its growing crackdown of activists, journalists and civil society groups.

Gershkovich's arrest also marks the first time an American journalist has been arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.

“Let there be no mistake: journalism is not a crime,” added Schumer and McConnell. “We demand the baseless, fabricated charges against Mr. Gershkovich be dropped and he be immediately released and reiterate our condemnation of the Russian government’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish independent journalists and civil society voices.”

Contributing the Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Evan Gershkovich: Russia formally charges WSJ reporter with espionage