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Tag: Wall Street Journal

  • Russia to release Wall Street’s Gershkovich, Whelan in prisoner exchange deal

    Russia to release Wall Street’s Gershkovich, Whelan in prisoner exchange deal

    Three U.S. citizens imprisoned in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, are anticipated to be released on Thursday as part of a prisoner exchange deal.

    Alongside Gershkovich, US Marine veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva will also be freed, as confirmed by a senior U.S. official.

    The exchange deal, agreed upon by the Biden administration, will involve a total of 24 prisoners held in Russia, the U.S., Germany, and three other Western countries. Although the swap has not yet occurred, it is expected to take place later on Thursday.

    Eight Russian nationals, some with suspected ties to Russian intelligence, are expected to be returned to Russia as part of the exchange.

    Vadim Krasikov, identified by German officials as a colonel in Russia’s FSB intelligence service, is currently serving a life sentence for the 2019 murder of a Kremlin opponent in a Berlin park.

    This comes amid days of speculation about a significant prisoner swap involving multiple countries, intensified by the relocation of several dissidents and journalists jailed in Russia to unknown locations.

    One such detainee is Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic with dual Russian-British citizenship, whose unknown whereabouts have fueled expectations of his possible release.

    Other names potentially included in the exchange are Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin and veteran human rights advocate Oleg Orlov.

    While secret prison transfers are not uncommon in Russia, the simultaneous “disappearance” of several high-profile prisoners is unusual.

    Earlier this week, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned German citizen Rico Krieger, who had been sentenced to death for terrorism and other charges.

    If all these releases occur, it would mark one of the largest prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West in history.

  • China discloses British person given jail term in 2022 for spying

    China discloses British person given jail term in 2022 for spying

    In 2022, a person from Britain was sent to jail for five years for spying in China, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    Ian J Stones is accused of getting secret information for people in other countries, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The spokesperson said he tried to change the sentencing but it was still the same in September.

    This information was only told to us in a meeting on Friday.

    The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) says that Stones worked in China for a long time with big American companies like General Motors and Pfizer. He is thought to be about 70 years old.

    15 years ago, he started a company in Beijing that helps people manage their investments. The Wall Street Journal found this information in corporate records, online profiles, and interviews with people who know him.

    Wang Wenbin from Mofa said the court followed the law when handling the case. He also said that Beijing made sure the man’s rights were protected and allowed British officials to visit him and attend his trial.

    Stone’s daughter said to the WSJ that embassy officials and one family member were allowed to watch one hearing but not the trial. They were also not allowed to see any legal documents for the case.

    She said her father was healthy when he was first taken into custody, but he didn’t get good medical care or enough food, so he got really hurt and his life was in danger.

    Ms Stones said that people from the British Embassy have been able to see Stones every four to six weeks to make sure he is ok. But sometimes they didn’t hear from him for a long time and weren’t allowed to visit him.

    Mr Wang said that Stones was accused of taking bribes to give information to outside people.

    “He said that the court system makes sure that cases are handled according to the law, protecting the rights of Chinese citizens and foreigners. ”

    China has been sharing more and more cases of spying by Western countries.


    Beijing is trying to make people aware of spying by other countries and asking them to report any strange behavior.

    Earlier this month, Chinese officials said they had arrested someone they believe was spying for Britain’s MI6. The BBC could not confirm these statements on its own.

    The UK government won’t say yes or no about claims about intelligence.

  • US diplomat in Russia meets with detained US reporter

    US diplomat in Russia meets with detained US reporter

    For the second time since his detention, the American journalist Evan Gershkovich was able to meet with the US ambassador to Russia.

    The Wall Street Journal writer is in good condition and is still robust, according to Ambassador Lynne Tracy.

    He was taken into custody on March 29 on espionage charges, making him the first foreign journalist taken into custody in Russia since the Soviet era.

    The charges are refuted by the US, the Wall Street Journal, and Mr. Gershkovich.

    Russia had been brushing aside US requests for more visits since the ambassador’s initial meeting with the reporter in April.

    “Ambassador Tracy reports that Mr Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances,” a State Department spokesperson said after Monday’s visit.

    The 31-year-old is being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, a former KGB prison.

    The visit comes after a Moscow court rejected an appeal to free Mr Gershkovich on 22 June, a move the US said at the time was extremely disappointing.

    Up until Monday’s meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was pushing Russia “virtually every day” to permit consular access.

    This had been a point of contention with the two countries, with the US accusing Russia of ignoring international law by blocking detained Americans diplomatic access.

    Russia had indicated their decision was linked to the US refusing visas to a group of Russian reporters assigned to cover Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to the UN Security Council in New York.

    The Russian foreign ministry described the decision to deny the visas as an act of “sabotage”.

    Mr Lavrov said Russia would neither forgive nor forget the decision.

    Along with Mr Gershkovich, the US has also been advocating for the release of Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who has been in jail for more than four years.

    Mr Whelan is in Mordovia, an area far southeast of Moscow known for harsh conditions in its prison camps.

    “Both men deserve to go home to their families now,” the State Department said in a statement.

    After being jailed for 10 months, basketball star Brittney Griner was released in December after the US brokered a prison swap and released Russian Viktor Bout, who was imprisoned in the US over weapons smuggling.

    Mr Blinken has said the US is exploring ways to bring home “many other Americans who are being detained in different parts of the world in an arbitrary fashion”.

    More on this story

  • US calls for release of detained journalist, Evan Gershkovich in call with Russia

    US calls for release of detained journalist, Evan Gershkovich in call with Russia

    In a rare phone call with his Russian counterpart, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken requested for the release of a detained Wall Street Journal reporter.

    In response, Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, said that the US shouldn’t try to “make a fuss” or politicise the arrest.

    On Friday, Evan Gershkovich was taken into custody on spying-related charges.

    The espionage accusation has been vehemently refuted by The Wall Street Journal.

    On Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Blinken spoke on the phone about Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest at the US’s request.

    A readout of the call released by the US Department of State said that Mr Blinken conveyed “great concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist”.

    Mr Lavrov responded by repeating Russia’s claims that Mr Gershkovich was caught “red-handed attempting to obtain classified information” and that his case will be handled by Russian courts, a statement by Russia’s foreign ministry said.

    Mr Lavrov also cautioned US officials and media not to fan “hysteria” around the journalist’s arrest.

    “It was stressed that it is inadmissible for Washington officials and Western mass media to stir up hysteria with an obvious aim of giving a political overtone to this case,” the ministry said.

    The White House has previously condemned Mr Gershkovich’s arrest “in the strongest terms”, and Mr Blinken said he was “deeply concerned” by his detainment.

    During the call, Mr Blinken also urged the release of other US citizens detained in Russia, including former US Marine Paul Whelan, who has also been held on espionage charges for over five years.

    Mr Gershkovich, 31, is a well-known correspondent in Moscow.

    The Wall Street Journal lost all contact with him on Wednesday afternoon, after which it was revealed that he was arrested by Russia’s FSB security service.

    The FSB claimed that it had halted “illegal activities” and that the journalist had been detained “acting on US instructions”.

    They alleged that Mr Gershkovich had “collected information classified as a state secret about the activities of a Russian defence enterprise”. He was ordered to remain in detention until 29 May.

    Espionage in Russia carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.

    Mr Gershkovich’s arrest has been strongly condemned by journalists around the world.

    In a letter to Russia’s US ambassador Anatoly Antenov, the Committee to Protect Journalists called Mr Gershkovich’s arrest “unwarranted and unjust”, and accused the Russian government of being anti-press.