A wall street journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, has been arrested in Russia on suspicions of spying and espionage according to FSB. The Journal denies espionage allegations against Evan Gershkovic.
"The wall street journal vehemently denies the allegation from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovic", the Journal said.
The reporter was apprehended in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural mountains, Russia's fourth largest city, according to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the senior KGB replacement agency, on suspicion of attempting to obtain confidential material. He was reporting on the Wagner mercenary group, the conflict in Ukraine, and charges in Russia.
In his most recent article, the reporter discussed how the Kremlin was dealing with "ballooning military expenditures". Since the end of the cold war in September 1986, he is the first journalist from an American news organization to be arrested in Russia on suspicion of spying, and his arrest comes at a time of intense international unrest over the conflict in Ukraine.
However, according to Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the. Russian Foreign Ministry, Gershkovick's claimed activities "were not related to journalism", and the case is being reviewed. FSB alleged that Gershkovick "was acting on instructions from the American side to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex staff secretes a staff-secret."
Maria Zakharova
The sweeping campaign of repression is incredible since the Soviet era. Activists say it often means the very profession of journalism is criminalized, along with the activities of ordinary Russians who oppose the war. At a hearing Thursday, a Moscow court quickly ruled that Gershkovich would be kept behind bars pending the investigations while previous American detainees have been freed in prisoner swaps, a top Russian Official said it was too early to talk about any such deals.
US Reacts to the Detainment Reporter
White House Condemns Russia's Detention of wall street journal reporter for what was described as Espionage, the first such case of an American journalist detained for allegations of spying since the cold war. The arrest of 31-year-old Evan Gershkovich, a Russian speaker whose parents came to fromUS from the soviet union, marked the latest diplomatic flashpoint between Moscow and Washington.
The two countries, already on opposite sides of a war in Ukraine, have also clashed over the arrest of each other's citizens and the state of nuclear arms treaties.
President Biden was briefed on the arrest of Mr Gershkovich, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. "We've been very clear about Americans not going to Russia. It is not safe", ms. Jean-Pierre said.
Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said that the US seeks immediate consular access to Mr Gershkovich so that it can provide the appropriate support.