The United States on Monday formally denounced the “arbitrary detention” of Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges, and called for his “immediate release”. Washington also again demanded consular access for the American journalist, whose detention was formally notified to the American authorities. Access denied.
“The (Russian) ministry provided notification of detention, but still no consular access in violation of its obligations,” department spokesman Vedant Patel said, urging Russian authorities to do so.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has “determined that Evan Gershkovich is arbitrarily detained by Russia,” a statement from Vedant Patel insisted. “Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued crackdown on independent voices in Russia and its war on truth,” the statement continued, noting that the US government will provide “all necessary support” to the Wall Street Journal reporter and those close to him.
This qualification of “arbitrary detention”, which was expected, triggers a series of procedures within the American administration and in particular allows the authorities to exchange information with the journalist’s relatives.
Evan Gershkovich is “a distinguished journalist, his arrest represents an attack on the free press and should provoke outrage among all peoples and free states throughout the world,” the Wall Street Journal’s editor-in-chief said in a letter. Emma Tucker, and the boss of Dow Jones (parent company of the “WSJ”), Almar Latour, in reaction to the announcement of the State Department.
Blinken himself called the journalist’s detention “unfair” on the sidelines of a NATO meeting last week in Brussels.
American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a former AFP employee, was arrested in Russia on March 29. He was formally charged with “espionage” last Friday, a charge he and his employer the Wall Street Journal forcefully denied.
According to the Russian news agency Interfax, Gershkovich is more specifically prosecuted on the basis of Article 276 of the Russian criminal code, a charge punishable by 20 years in prison. This indictment paves the way for a trial, the date of which has not yet been announced.
The reporter was arrested by Russian security services while reporting in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals. The authorities accused him in particular of gathering information on the Russian defense industry. Washington has dismissed these claims as “ridiculous”.
The head of American diplomacy has also reiterated a call for the release of another detainee in Russia, Paul Whelan, whom the United States also considers to be arbitrarily imprisoned.
The arrest of the American journalist follows an exchange which took place in December between the American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was in detention in Russia, and the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, prisoner in the United States.