The US State Department has officially designated Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia on charges of spying, as “wrongfully detained”, The Wall Street Journal notes.
The move means that Washington can now launch swap negotiations.
The Gershkovich case will now be tackled by the State Department’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Its staffers engage in talks on releasing hostages and other Americans who have been unlawfully arrested in other states.
The WSJ reports citing US officials that the Gershkovich designation happened at an “unprecedented” speed — this drawn out bureaucratic process normally takes months. Washington also views Paul Whelan, a US citizen sentenced to 16 years behind bars in Russia for spying, as “wrongfully detained”.
Gershkovich was detained by Russia’s FSB on suspicions of espionage in Yekaterinburg on 29 March.
According to media reports, the journalist was interested in attitudes of Russians towards the mercenary Wagner Group and visited the city of Nizhny Tagil where a major defence-related industry facility is located.
The journalist was arrested by a Moscow court the next day.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to immediately release the detainee. US President Joe Biden echoed this call to the Russian side.
The WSJ, in turn, demanded that the Russian ambassador and all Russian reporters be expelled from the US in retaliation for the reporter’s arrest.
