Yesterday, a Russian court decided to imprison American “Wall Street Journal” reporter Ivan Gershkovich on suspicion of espionage, and the 31-year-old American journalist was remanded in custody until May 29, the court said in a statement. The detention period may be extended pending a possible investigation. Yesterday, the Russian Federal Security Service announced the arrest of a newspaper reporter on espionage charges, and the Kremlin warned Washington of retaliation targeting Russian media after the reporter’s arrest. The Federal Security Service, the top domestic security and counterintelligence agency, said Gershkovich was arrested in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg on charges of seeking classified information.
The agency added that the American journalist “gathered information representing state secrets related to the activities of one of the projects of the Russian military industrial complex.”
For its part, the Wall Street Journal “vehemently denies these allegations” and is calling for Gershkovich’s immediate release. “We stand in solidarity with Ivan and his family,” the newspaper added.
Gershkovitch was “carrying out US orders to collect information on the activities of a company affiliated with the Russian military-industrial complex, which (information) is a state secret,” the Defense Service said.
The security apparatus did not specify the time of the arrest. Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
Gershkovich covers Russia and Ukraine as the Wall Street Journal’s Moscow bureau correspondent.
However, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that the “Wall Street Journal” reporter arrested by Russia on charges of “espionage” was “caught red-handed.” After the arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges, the Kremlin warned Washington of possible retaliation against Russian media outlets operating in the United States.
Asked about the possibility of action against Russian media in the United States following the arrest of reporter Ivan Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “This will not happen, we believe it will not happen.
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