Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has formally charged an American journalist detained last week in Yekaterinburg with espionage, Russian news agencies reported on April 7.
Evan Gershkovich, Moscow correspondent for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), denied the charges and said he was working as a journalist, Interfax and TASS reported, citing a law enforcement source.
The FSB said on March 30 that it had detained Gershkovich and had opened an espionage case against him for collecting what it said were state secrets about the military industrial complex. It alleged that Gershkovich was operating on instructions from the United States.
"FSB investigators charged Gershkovich with espionage in the interests of his country," Russian state-run agency TASS said, citing the source.
"He categorically denied all accusations and stated that he was engaged in journalistic activities in Russia," TASS said.
The state-run news agency added that according to its source, the journalist's case is marked top secret.
The Wall Street Journal has adamantly denied the allegations against Gershkovich and demanded that he be freed. U.S. President Joe Biden has also called for Gershkovich's release, and the White House called the accusations against him "ridiculous."
Russia said on April 6 that it was "pointless" to try to pressure Moscow over the case.
A Moscow court on March 30 agreed to a request from the FSB to hold Gershkovich under arrest for two months.
The case prompted a joint statement on April 7 from the U.S. Senate's top two leaders, who demanded that Russia immediately release Gershkovich and condemned his detention.
The statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky) comes as the United States works for the release of Gershkovich, the first journalist to be held for alleged espionage since the Cold War.
“We strongly condemn the wrongful detention of U.S. citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and demand the immediate release of this internationally known and respected independent journalist,” Schumer and McConnell said.
They said Gershkovich was accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist in Russia, and “Russian authorities have failed to present any credible evidence to justify their fabricated charges.”
Schumer and McConnell added: "Let there be no mistake: journalism is not a crime."
Although his lawyers have been allowed to meet with him, he has been denied consular access “against standard diplomatic practice and likely in violation of international law,” the two senators said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on April 5 he has “no doubt” that Russia has wrongfully detained Gershkovich.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne T. Tracy and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov met on April 6 to discuss the situation.