Release Gershkovich: The Wall Street Journal’s plea to Russian authorities

The Wall Street Journal called on Russian authorities to immediately release its correspondent Ivan Gershkovich, who was arrested last week on suspicion of espionage.

According to a statement released by the newspaper: “The Wall Street Journal is calling for the immediate release of our colleague Ivan Gershkovich, a prominent journalist who was arrested while covering events in Russia. We know what’s going on in the world thanks to the brave work of reporters like Ivan.”

The newspaper says it considers the accusations against its journalist to be a “cruel affront” to press freedom and emphasizes that “no reporter should be detained just for doing their job.”

Earlier, the Russian Federal Security Service announced the arrest in Yekaterinburg of journalist Ivan Gershkovich from the Moscow office of the Wall Street Journal on suspicion of espionage.

According to the agency, the journalist, on assignment from the United States of America, collected information constituting a state secret about “the activities of the company associated with the Russian military-industrial complex.” Having received classified information, a US citizen was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg.

The statement authoritatively states: “The Investigation Department of the FSB has opened a criminal case against a US citizen under article No. 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on charges of espionage.”

The Wall Street Journal denied the accusations against the journalist and demanded his immediate release Council of Europe Secretary General Maria Bezhenovic Boric, European Union diplomat Josep Borrell and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned Hershkovich’s arrest, as did the British and French foreign ministries.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said Moscow had granted consular access to detained journalist Gershkovich in accordance with its internal procedures.

According to her, the American reaction to the arrest of Gershkovich became self-disclosure, and if the threats continue, they will “raise a storm.”

Source: News

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