The editorial offices of Bloomberg, the New York Times, the Washington Post and Politico issued a joint statement calling for the release of Wall Street Journal Moscow bureau correspondent Evan Gershkovich.
“We are deeply concerned about the detention in Russia of Evan Gershkovich, a respected Wall Street Journal reporter whose coverage of events in Russia was honest and accurate at a time when the world needs reliable information. Evan's detention is intended to put pressure on independent journalism and deprive the public of important news. We call for Evan's immediate release,» the statement said.
The FSB accused Evan Gershkovich of espionage (Article 276 of the Criminal Code). The Wall Street Journal correspondent was detained in Yekaterinburg, where, according to investigators, he was collecting data on «an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex.» Ural journalists who met with the American said that he was preparing a text about the work of Wagner PMC. Gershkovich was taken from Yekaterinburg to Moscow and sent to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center on March 30.
After the journalist's arrest, the Wall Street Journal called on the US authorities to expel the Russian ambassador and all Russian journalists from the country. American President Joe Biden, in response to a CNN reporter's question about his «message to Russia» in connection with the arrest of Gershkovich, said: «Let him go.» And US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Americans to leave Russia.
The case of Evan Gershkovich. WSJ journalist accused of espionage