Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been arrested on charges of espionage in Russia. If found guilty, he faces a possible sentence of 20 years in prison.
According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), Gershkovich was attempting to gain access to classified documents related to military activities: “[Gershkovich] was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.”
Prior to this, the journalist had obtained valid credentials from the Russian Foreign Ministry to work as a foreign correspondent in the country, and was specifically covering the war in Ukraine. He had, for example, written a negative story concerning Russian economic performance.
It has been reported that his arrest for espionage is the first of such detentions of American journalists in Russia since the Cold War.
