He is accused of espionage and now he’s locked up in a Russian prison. Il Wall Street Journal And “deeply concerned” for the fate of his correspondent Evan Gershkovich which, as the Federation’s internal security services (FSB) quoted by Interfaxwas stopped due to the “illegal activity” which was taking place in the country. The reporter, accredited to the Russian Foreign Ministry, is “suspected of espionage for the benefit of american government“. Also according to Russian intelligence, Gershkovich picked up information covered by “state secret” on the activities of one of the “companies of Russian military-industrial complex” and for this he risks 20 years in prison. In the evening also comes the reaction of White House who says he learned of the arrest from the American newspaper. With the Secretary of State, Antony Blink, the US condemns “in the harshest terms the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress and punish journalists and voices of civil society”. “We are deeply concerned for disturbing reports that Evan Gershkovich, a US citizen, has been arrested in Russia. He is unacceptable that the Russian government is targeting American citizens. We condemn the arrest of Gershkovich in the strongest terms, the espionage charges are ridiculous“, adds the spokeswoman for White House Karin Jean-Pierre. And he gives the order to American citizens in Russia: “Leave the country immediately“.
The spokeswoman for the Moscow Foreign Ministry also spoke on the matter, Maria Zakharovadeclaring through his Telegram profile that “what the correspondent of the Wall Street Journal a Yekaterinburg it has nothing to do with journalism. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the foreign correspondent status, journalist visa and accreditation have been used by foreigners in our country to cover activities that are not journalism“. Il Kremlinthrough its spokesperson Dmitry Peskovadds that regarding the reporter’s activities “we are not talking about suspects, it was caught in the act” and hopes that the US does not comply acts of retaliation for arrest. Responds to the accusations of the Russian institutions Wall Street Journal which “strongly denies the allegations of the FSB and demands immediate release by our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.”
The independent site Medusa, which quotes “Western journalists who work in Moscow”, identifies Gershkovich’s ‘fault’ in some trips made in the country to areas with a strong military presence (and control). There is not only the trip to Ekaterinburg, they explain, but also a Nizhny Tagilanother Russian city where a defense industry plant is located Uralvagonzavod which produces tanks. Local media say that the fixer accompanied the reporter on his trips, Yaroslav Shirshikov. And Shirshikov claims that Gershkovich had gone to this city to gather information on the attitude of the population towards the conflict in Ukraine and the military company Wagner. Medusa he adds that there are rumors that a man was stopped by security forces in the restaurant Bukowski Grill of Yekaterinburg and carried away with the head covered by a sweater. According to Shirshikov it was precisely the American journalist. When asked for comment, Wagner’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhinhe replied in a sarcastic tone: “If you want I can check the torture room home to see if he’s here, but I don’t think I’ve seen him among the dozens of American journalists I keep there”.
The reporter was transferred to the court of Lefortovoin Moscow, where the court, despite the fact that the man pleaded not guilty of the charges brought against him, ha confirmed the arrest for at least two months, until May 29. Speaking to the media, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkovhe specified that at the moment Gershkovich’s case has not been included in the discussions for a possible exchange of prisoners with the United States. “I have no information, I have nothing to say about it,” she said. Version later confirmed by the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Yevgeny Ivanovaccording to which the United States has not contacted Russia regarding the arrest of the journalist.
Gershkovich is a reporter covering the Russial’Ukraine and the former Soviet Union for the American financial newspaper. Her parents live in the United States but are originally from the ex Soviet Union and it is also for this reason that the reporter speaks Russian. Before being hired at Wall Street Journal he had worked for the agency Afpfor the English-language Russian publication Moscow Times and was a news assistant for the New York Times. Gershkovich is the first US journalist arrested in Russia for espionage since the Cold War. The last case dates back to 1986, when he ended up in handcuffs Nick Daniloff: “In my case, the FBI had arrested a Soviet a New York for espionage and the Russians arrested me,” the reporter told Alla Cnn adding that the negotiation had ultimately secured his release with a “solution for the man who was arrested in New York.” At the time Ronald Reagan he was president of the United States, Russia was part of the Soviet Union and relations were very tense. Daniloff was arrested at the end of his assignment for Us News and World Reportremained in prison for weeks in solitary confinement before the administration negotiated his release.
Photo: Instagram profile on Evan Gershkovich