A Wall Street Journal reporter from the United States was arrested by Russia's intelligence agency on spying allegations.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that Evan Gershkovich had been arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for attempting to get classified data.
According to the service, Evan Gershkovich "was acting on US orders to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret," according to an AP News report.
On Wednesday, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, told members of the media that Gershkovich "was caught red-handed."
The FSB's investigative division opened a criminal espionage probe, the agency said.
Evan Gershkovich previous Wall Street Journal article this week covered Russia's failing economy and the Kremlin's "ballooning military expenditures" amid sustaining social programs, according to the BBC.
Breaking: A Russian court ordered WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich detained until May 29 for what it described as espionage. His arrest has drawn broad condemnation. https://t.co/g1N99xtMV6
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 30, 2023
The Wall Street Journal, Human Rights Groups Stand By Evan Gershkovich
The Wall Street Journal said the FSB charges were false. The publication issued a statement expressing its support for Evan Gershkovich and his loved ones.
"The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB" and wants the immediate release of our valued and loyal reporter, Evan Gershkovich," per a statement.
The maximum sentence for espionage in Russia is 20 years in prison.
There have been online statements of support for Evan Gershkovich from other international journalists covering Russia, who have said that he is a competent journalist and not a spy, per Reuters.
On Twitter, Andrei Soldatov, an expert in Russia's security services, insisted that "Evan Gershkovich is a very good and brave journalist, not a spy," and called his arrest "a frontal attack on all foreign correspondents" working in Russia.
"It means that the FSB is off the leash," Soldatov stated.
Human Rights Watch, based in New York City, has demanded that he be freed.
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