World News | U.S. Says Wall Street Journal Reporter Wrongly Detained in Russia

WASHINGTON, April 11 (AP) — The Biden administration formalized Monday that a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia on espionage charges was “wrongly detained.”

The designation elevates the Evan Gershkovich case in the U.S. government hierarchy and means a dedicated State Department office will take the lead in securing his release.

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U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the decision on Monday, saying he condemned the arrests and Russia’s crackdown on independent media.

“Today, Secretary Blinken made the determination that Evan Gershkovich was wrongfully detained by Russia,” the department said in a statement. “Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on independent voices in Russia and its ongoing war against the truth.”

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Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich, 31, on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth largest city. He was the first American journalist to be detained on suspicion of espionage since the Cold War.

The FSB specifically accused Gershkovich of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory. The Wall Street Journal has denied the allegations.

The State Department said the U.S. government would provide all appropriate support to Gershkovich and his family, and reiterated its call on Russia to release him and another detained U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan.

Blinken’s statement on Monday was the first public comment on the case since Russian news agencies reported on Friday that Gershkovich had been charged with espionage and formally denied it.

State news agencies Tass and Interfax said law enforcement sources told them that the Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, had formally charged the American journalist.

The news outlet did not say how Gershkovich was formally charged or when it happened, but suspects are typically shown a document outlining the charges.

In the Russian legal system, the filing of charges and the defendant’s response represent the official start of a criminal investigation, launching what can be a lengthy and secretive Russian judicial process.

TASS quoted its sources as saying: “Investigations by the Federal Security Service accused Gershkovich of espionage in the interests of his state. He categorically denies all charges and says he is engaged in journalistic activities in Russia.”

The sources declined to comment further because the case is considered confidential.

The case caused an international uproar, and last Thursday, the U.S. ambassador to Russia met with a senior Russian diplomat to discuss it.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stressed the “seriousness of the allegations” against Gershkovich during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Lynn T. Tracy, the Russian foreign ministry said.

The statement reiterated Russia’s earlier claim that the journalist “was caught red-handed while trying to obtain classified information, using his journalistic status as a cover for illegal operations.”

Gershkovich has been ordered to be held in Russia for two months pending an investigation. A court in Moscow said it had received an appeal from the defense against his arrest; a hearing on the appeal was scheduled for April 18, Russian news agencies reported. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)