Secretary of State Antony Blinken Expresses Grave Concern Over Detention of Wall Street Journal Reporter in Russia

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed his concern over the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia. Gershkovich was arrested last week on espionage charges, becoming the first U.S. journalist to be detained in the country on spying accusations since the Cold War.

At a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, Blinken said he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the weekend that the U.S. was “gravely concerned” about the detention and called for Gershkovich’s immediate release.

“In my own mind, there’s no doubt that he’s being wrongfully detained by Russia, which is exactly what I said to Foreign Minister Lavrov,” Blinken said. “We stand with Evan and continue to call for his immediate release.”

The Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker and Dow Jones CEO and WSJ publisher Almar Latour released a statement saying that Gershkovich’s health is good and he is grateful for the outpouring of support from around the world.

Both U.S. officials and the Journal have denied the unsubstantiated allegations, and called on Russia to release Gershkovich. Blinken said that the safety and security of American citizens around the world is a top priority for the U.S. government.

The State Department has not released any further information about the case, but has said that it is closely monitoring the situation.