The State Department of the United States has declared Evan Gershkowitz, a journalist of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) to be detained wrongfully, which makes way for the American foreign policy department to work towards the release of the US citizen. The department stated, “Today, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ruled that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia. Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued crackdown on independent voices in Russia and its ongoing war against the truth,” according to an Associated Press article. Gershkovich was arrested on March 30 in Yekaterinburg and was charged with espionage by the Lefortovo Court of Moscow on March 31. The Federal Security Service or FSB stated that the journalist gathered information about a state secret of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex. WSJ has denied these allegations and appealed for the release of their journalist. The article “The American who traveled a lot in Russia” was written by Evan Gershkovich for The Wall Street Journal. The author of this information is Leonid Uvarchev.
The US State Department has categorized Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist Evan Gershkowitz as “wrongfully detained.” This gives grounds for the American foreign policy department to act in the interests of the release of the US citizen.
“Today, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ruled that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia. Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued crackdown on independent voices in Russia and its ongoing war against the truth,” the State Department said in a statement. Associated Press).
Evan Gershkovich was detained on March 30 in Yekaterinburg. On March 31, the Lefortovo Court of Moscow arrested him for two months in a case of espionage (Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the FSB, the journalist collected information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, which constitutes a state secret. The WSJ has rejected allegations of espionage against its journalist and demanded his release.
What Evan Gershkovich wrote for The Wall Street Journal – in the material “The American who traveled a lot in Russia.”
It is clear that the detention of Evan Gershkovich in Russia has caused concern not only for his family and colleagues but also for the American State Department. The State Department’s decision to categorize Gershkovich’s detention as “wrongful” paves the way for further action in support of his release. The ongoing crackdown on independent voices in Russia and the prosecution of journalists for their reporting is unacceptable. Journalism is not a crime, and the WSJ has rejected allegations of espionage against Gershkovich. We hope that his case is resolved soon, and he is released to reunite with his loved ones.