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The United States on Monday determined that Russia had “wrongfully detained” American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, effectively saying the espionage allegations were false and that the case was political.
“Journalism is not a crime,” US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement. “We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, said on March 30 it had arrested Gershkovich, accusing him of gathering information about a Russian defense company that was a state secret.
The Wall Street Journal has denounced Gershkovich as spying. The White House called the espionage charge, which carries up to 20 years in prison, “ridiculous.”
US President Joe Biden called for Gershkovich’s release and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an April 2 phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov raised Washington’s concerns about the “unacceptable detention” of the journalist.
Reasons for ‘wrongful detention’
The “wrongfully held” designation means that responsibility for the case will now be transferred from the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, raising the political profile of the issue and allowing the government to devote more resources to securing it. Gershkovich’s release.
Legislation passed by Congress in 2020 lists 11 criteria to help determine if a US citizen is “wrongfully detained”. The US Secretary of State uses these criteria to make the designation, but a case does not have to meet all 11 points to earn the “wrongfully detained” label.
The list includes, among other things, whether the individual was targeted primarily because he is an American citizen or whether the detention was intended to influence US government policy.
Another factor is whether the individual was detained in “inhumane conditions” or detained in a country where the US mission received credible reports that the detention was a pretext.
The Biden administration has released at least 25 “wrongfully detained” Americans. More than 30 other US citizens are still being held abroad under that designation.
American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, has been detained in Russia on charges of spying for the US government. The journalist’s employer and colleagues were shocked by the allegations, and US officials said they were deeply concerned.
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