Evan Gershkovich, a reporter with the Moscow bureau of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), was charged with espionage. On this subject informed Interfax, citing a source close to the situation.
“Gershkovich has been charged,” the source said. The journalist is accused of committing a crime under Art. 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Gershkovich’s lawyer, Daniil Berman, told The Eastern Herald he did not comment on the journalist’s case.
On March 30, the FSB reported that Gershkovich had been detained in Yekaterinburg. According to the intelligence service, on the instructions of the American authorities, the journalist collected information constituting a state secret on one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.
The WSJ said it “categorically denies” the allegations against Gershkovich and demanded his immediate release. Editorial suggested that the journalist was arrested to be exchanged for Russians accused of crimes in the United States. The publication called on President Joe Biden’s administration to expel the Russian ambassador and all Russian journalists from the United States.
The Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Gershkovich “was caught in the act”.
