American Journalist Arrested in Russia on Suspicion of Espionage, Sparking International Outrage

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced the arrest of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Moscow bureau of The Wall Street Journal, on suspicion of espionage.

Gershkovich, born in 1991 and accredited with the Russian Foreign Ministry, was detained in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains while allegedly trying to obtain classified information. The FSB statement said Gershkovich was acting on the orders of the US government.

This is the first time a reporter for an American news outlet has been arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War. Gershkovich is the first journalist to be arrested in Russia on such charges since the Cold War.

The FSB statement did not specify what kind of information Gershkovich was allegedly trying to obtain. However, it did say that the information was related to the activities of one of the FSB’s departments.

Gershkovich’s arrest has been widely condemned by international media organizations and human rights groups. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for his immediate release, saying that the charges against him are “baseless and politically motivated”.