A Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained last week has been officially charged by Russia with espionage.
According to Friday’s report by Russian state news outlet Tass, journalist Evan Gershkovich officially denied the allegations after being prosecuted by Russia’s Federal Security Service.
Tass quoted an unnamed source as saying, “He categorically refuted all the allegations and indicated that he was involved in journalistic activities in Russia.”
It was not immediately clear if Gershkovich, 31, was charged in a court hearing.
Gershkovich is the first US journalist to be detained in Russia, on March 30, on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War. US President Joe Biden the next day called on Russia to ‘let him go’.
The Kremlin said that Gershkovich was engaging in espionage ‘under the cover’ of being a journalist. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claims Gershkovich was caught trying to get away with secrets.
Meanwhile, the Journal has called the arrest of its ‘trusted and dedicated reporter’ a ‘vicious affront to a free press’ that ‘should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world’.
If convicted, Gershkovich could face 20 years behind bars.
On Friday, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a rare joint statement called on Russia to immediately release Gershkovich.
‘We strongly condemn the wrongful detention of US citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and demand the immediate release of this internationally known and respected independent journalist,’ wrote Schumer and McConnell.
They noted that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accredited Gershkovich to work as a journalist in the country.
‘Let there be no mistake: journalism is not a crime,’ stated Schumer and McConnell stated.
‘We demand the baseless, fabricated charges against Mr Gershkovich be dropped and he be immediately released and reiterate our condemnation of the Russian government’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish independent journalists and civil society voices.’
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gershkovich was ‘wrongfully detained’ and that the US agency was evaluating if that determination could be made formally.