Key Takeaways:
- Russia has detained an American journalist on charges of espionage
- Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal Reporter, was detained by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)
- The United States has condemned his arrest and called on American citizens to leave Russia
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Amid the growing tensions between Moscow and Washington, Russia has thrown another open challenge to the US. In a dramatic turn of events, Kremlin’s top security agency has arrested an American journalist on spying charges. The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia accused Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent of the Wall Street Journal, of carrying out espionage against the state.
The agency, which succeeded the infamous KGB of the Soviet era, claimed it had “halted illegal activities” of the American reporter. Moreover, it accused Gershkovich of “acting on US instructions” by “collecting state secrets” to supposedly report them to Washington.
The Wall Street Journal announced that it “vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter.”
Nevertheless, a court in Moscow’s Lefortovo district granted the FSB permission to hold Gershkovich in pre-trial detention until May 29. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in jail.
Although the Russian Foreign Ministry had given Gershkovich accreditation to work as a journalist in the country, it accused him of engaging in “activities that have nothing to do with journalism.”
“Relevant statements have been made through our security services… I think (they) will also provide it publicly, and you will have an opportunity to verify it,”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said
Washington denounces US Journalist’s arrest
The United States condemned Russia’s arrest of the Wall Street Journal correspondent and called on its citizens in Russia to leave the country.
Reacting to the arrest, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington was “deeply concerned” by the developments.
“In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress and punish journalists and civil society voices,”
Blinken said in the statement.
The Biden Administration also condemned Gershkovich’s detention, calling the exercise “unacceptable”.
“The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable. We also condemn the Russian government’s continued targeting and repression of journalists and freedom of the press,”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “
Gershkovich’s detention marks the first arrest of an American journalist in Russia since the Cold War years. The last American correspondent to be detained was Nicholas Daniloff. The KGB arrested him in 1986 but released him during a prisoners’ exchange just 20 days later.
The event comes as another proof of the deepening crisis in the bilateral relations between the two rivals as the Russian invasion of Ukraine drags on.
