Russia arrests Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges

Russian authorities said on Thursday that they had arrested an American journalist for The Wall Street Journal and accused him of espionage, marking a new escalation in Moscow’s tensions with the United States and with foreign media organizations since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.

Journalist Evan Gershkovich, a reporter based in Moscow, is believed to be the first American reporter to be accused of spying in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. His detention went like relations between Russia and the United States continues to deteriorate, with Washington leading a coalition of nations that support Ukraine’s military defense and promote Moscow’s further diplomatic and economic isolation.

The Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, said in a declare that Mr. Gershkovich was “suspected of spying for the benefit of the US government” and was being held in Yekaterinburg, a city about 900 miles east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains.

Hours later, the Kremlin confirmed Gershkovich’s arrest. “We are not talking about suspicions,” said Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, adding, “He was caught red-handed.” Peskov said he could not provide further details.

The detention is an ominous sign for the rights of foreign journalists based in Russia. The Wall Street Journal strongly denied the charges against Gershkovich and said it would demand his immediate release. “We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family,” the newspaper said in a statement.

The Biden administration said it was “deeply concerned” about Mr Gershkovich’s detention and that State Department officials had been in contact with Russian authorities to secure access to reporters and to check on his health. .

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “It is unacceptable for the Russian government to target US citizens. “We strongly condemn the detention of Mr. Gershkovich. We also condemn the Russian government’s continued targeting and suppression of journalists and press freedom.”

Brother Gershkovich, 31 years old, used to work for The Journal in Moscow as of January 2022 and has previously been reported in Russia for Agence France-Presse and for The Moscow Times. Prior to that, he was a news assistant for The New York Times, based in New York.

No Western journalist has been tried for espionage in Russia in recent years. But by March 2022, many foreign news agencies temporarily deleted their reporters from the following country harsh new law almost outlawed some form of independent reporting after the invasion of Ukraine.

Since then, reporters — include Mr. Gershkovich – has continued to be recognized by the Russian Foreign Ministry and is generally able to operate freely.

But American journalists, in particular, were concerned about a situation like the one currently occurring with Mr. Gershkovich: that Russian authorities could arrest a reporter of a US-based organization during context of greater tension between the two countries.

Gulnoza Said, coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which oversees press freedom abroad, said: “Until today, foreign reporters working in Russia still hope that the The suppression of this independent report will not affect them. “But with these very serious allegations, it’s clear that any foreign reporter could be a victim.”

“The situation was frozen,” she added, “and now it is getting worse. Everyone working in Russia knows it can happen, but everyone hopes it won’t happen.” Said called for the immediate release of Mr Gershkovich, joining media advocacy groups such as the National Press Club which criticized “an unjust detention”.

Mr. Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison under Russia’s criminal law. Domestic espionage trials can last for months and are often conducted in secret. An acquittal is virtually unheard of.

Photos and video emerged showing Mr Gershkovich leaving the court in Moscow on Thursday afternoon with a hooded jacket over his head. He pleaded not guilty to espionage, Russian state news agency Tass report.

In previous espionage cases, after being found guilty, Russia sought to exchange for a Russian spy detained in the West. In 2019, in exchange for two convicted Russian spies in Lithuania, Moscow frees a Norwegian man who was detained for 23 months on espionage charges.

The Brittney Griner’s detentionan American WNBA star who, on a petty drug charge in February 2022, began a months-long negotiation between Moscow and Washington to free her, culminating in prisoner exchange freed a Russian arms dealer from US custody.

American officials have also pushed for the release Paul Whelan, a former Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison for what the United States considers false espionage. His brother, David Whelan, said in a statement that he hoped the Biden administration “acts quickly and decisively” to secure the release of Mr Whelan and Mr Gershkovich, though he also questioned asked if the White House considers his brother’s case a top priority.

On Thursday, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei A. Ryabkov, signaled that it was too early to discuss a Gershkovich swap. According to Russian news agency Interfax, Ryabkov told reporters: “Some of the exchanges that took place in the past took place with people serving sentences,” adding, “Let’s see how this story unfolds. how it develops.”

Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the French-based Carnegie Russia Center for Eurasia, said that Gershkovich’s report on the Russian military was what most likely attracted the attention of security agencies. Russia, adding that it may have seen an opportunity to strike a new negotiating chip.

“I think it will attract a lot of political attention in the United States so that the authorities will have to react,” she said, adding that his arrest “puts the Kremlin in a favorable position.” profit.”

Mr. Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said that the Kremlin has no intention of closing The Journal’s Moscow office. “The units that are operating as normal press, if there is a valid inspection, of course they will continue to operate,” he said.

The magazine recently named a new top editor, Emma Tucker. In 2014, as deputy editor-in-chief of The Times of London, Ms. Tucker was closely associated with in an episode involving two reporters who have been kidnapped and held in Syria. One of the journalists, Anthony Loyd, was shot twice in the leg, and the other, photographer Jack Hill, was beaten before the men could escape.

“We are very concerned for Evan’s safety and will keep you informed of the situation,” Tucker wrote in a Thursday memo to her staff.

Victoria Kim contribution report.