American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been officially accused of espionage and will face trial in Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 while traveling to Russia for a reporting assignment. Russian courts rejected his pleas and mandated that he stay behind bars until the government had the opportunity to bring charges against him. The administration said that he was "caught red-handed" in Yekaterinburg and would not clarify what crime it believed he had committed. There has never been any proof that he is guilty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin almost acknowledged that he was keeping Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson prisoner, but he would not think about freeing the reporter unless he received something in exchange. Long-standing rumors suggest that Putin ordered the execution of opposition leader Alexey Navalny in February 2024 to thwart a prisoner-exchange agreement involving Krasikov that he found unacceptable. Now, Gershkovich is facing an espionage charge and will most likely face a covert trial.
The Wall Street Journal criticized all of the accusations made against Gershkovich as "false" and his imprisonment as "wrongful," calling for his immediate release. The accusation against Evan Gershkovich is unfounded and fraudulent, and Russia's recent effort toward a fake trial is disappointing and obscene. Reporting is not illegal, and the case is an assault on free press.
A senior Biden administration official maintained that "journalism is not a crime," and they anticipate that Evan will continue to have consular access from Russian authorities. Former Marine Paul Whelan has been held in custody in Russia since December 2018 on speculative espionage allegations that the US administration has flatly denied.
Russian President Vladimir Putin almost acknowledged that he was keeping Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson prisoner, but he would not think about freeing the reporter unless he received something in exchange. Long-standing rumors suggest that Putin ordered the execution of opposition leader Alexey Navalny in February 2024 to thwart a prisoner-exchange agreement involving Krasikov that he found unacceptable. Now, Gershkovich is facing an espionage charge and will most likely face a covert trial.
The Wall Street Journal criticized all of the accusations made against Gershkovich as "false" and his imprisonment as "wrongful," calling for his immediate release. The accusation against Evan Gershkovich is unfounded and fraudulent, and Russia's recent effort toward a fake trial is disappointing and obscene. Reporting is not illegal, and the case is an assault on free press.
A senior Biden administration official maintained that "journalism is not a crime," and they anticipate that Evan will continue to have consular access from Russian authorities. Former Marine Paul Whelan has been held in custody in Russia since December 2018 on speculative espionage allegations that the US administration has flatly denied.
