ALBAWABA - Russia arrested Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg over accusations of spying, the Interfax news service reported.
According to the agency, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Thursday that Gershkovich "is suspected of espionage in the interests of the American government."
My friend and thoroughly professional journalist @evangershkovich has been arrested by the FSB on obviously bogus espionage charges. Journalism is not a crime. Evan should be released immediately https://t.co/QcYFkOECKg
— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) March 30, 2023
Furthermore, Russia accused the American journalist of collecting "information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex."
Russian media noted that the WSJ reporter was in Yekaterinburg to cover Russia's war in Ukraine and the Wagner mercenary group before he was detained by the Federal Security Service.
PR expert Yaroslav Shirshikov posted on Telegram that he received an overnight phone call from a WSJ employee who said he was unable to reach Gershkovich.
