WSJ says detention of US citizen Evan Gershkovich is based on false allegations by Russian state
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted from a court building in Moscow, Russia, March 30 2023. Picture: EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/REUTERS
The FSB said in a statement it opened a criminal case against Gershkovich for suspected espionage, accusing him of gathering information about a military factory classified as a state secrets. It did not name the factory. The service said it detained the 31-year-old journalist in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg as he was trying to procure secret information. It did not give documentary or video evidence of his guilt.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Gershkovich’s activities in Yekaterinburg were “not related to journalism” and it was not the first time a foreign journalism role was used as a cover for other activities. Russia has tightened censorship laws since it invaded Ukraine on February 24 2022 in what it called a “special military operation”, bringing in jail terms for people said to have “discredited” the military.“The problem is that recently updated Russian legislation and the FSB’s interpretation of espionage today allow for the imprisonment of anyone who is simply interested in military affairs,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, a Kremlin watcher and founder of the R.Politik political analysis firm.
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