US State Department Secretary Anthony Blinken asks Americans living in Russia to leave the country ‘immediately’ after journalist’s arrest in Moscow
Posted on – Thu, 3/30/23 at 11:45pm
US State Department Secretary Anthony Blinken asks Americans living in Russia to leave the country ‘immediately’ after journalist’s arrest in Moscow
Washington: U.S. State Department Secretary Anthony Blinken on Thursday asked Americans living in Russia to leave the country “immediately” following the journalist’s arrest in Moscow.
Blinken tweeted: “We are deeply concerned by Russia’s announcement of the detention of a US citizen journalist. @StateDept’s highest priority is the safety and security of US citizens abroad. If you are a US citizen living or traveling in Russia — — Please leave immediately.” The remarks came after Wall Street Journal (WSJ) American reporter Evann Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, Al Jazeera reported.
In a statement, Blinken said: “We are deeply concerned by the widely reported detention of American citizen journalists in Russia. We are in contact with The Wall Street Journal about this situation. Seek consular access and seek to provide all appropriate support.” The statement added: “We condemn in the strongest terms the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, silence and punish journalists and civil society voices.”
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre also expressed concern over the arrest of Evan Gershkovich in Russia. She also said White House and State Department officials spoke with Gershkovich’s employer, The Wall Street Journal, last night. “The government has also been in touch with his family. Additionally, the State Department has been in direct contact with the Russian government on this matter, including actively working to secure consular access to Gershkovich,” the press secretary said in a tweet.
“The Russian government’s targeting of U.S. citizens is unacceptable. We condemn Gershkovich’s detention in the strongest possible terms. We also condemn the Russian government’s continued targeting and repression of journalists and press freedom,” she added.
She also said the U.S. government should heed warnings not to travel to Russia.
Pierre tweeted that as the State Department continues to advise, U.S. citizens living or traveling in Russia should leave immediately. “The Wall Street Journal has deep concerns about Gershkovich’s safety,” the Journal said in a statement. He was detained for allegedly trying to obtain classified information.
The FSB said in a statement that “Gershkovich, at the direction of the United States, collected state-classified information on the activities of a company in the Russian military-industrial complex,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
The FSB also claimed that Gershkovich “was collecting classified information on the activities of Russian military-industrial complex companies that constitute state secrets,” Al Jazeera reported.
Local media said he was reporting on the Ukrainian war and the Wagner mercenary regiment before his detention.
The statement did not mention an arrest date, but if Gershkovich is found guilty of espionage, he could be in prison for about 20 years.
He is the first American news organization journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War on suspicion of espionage, Al Jazeera reported, and his detention comes amid heightened international attention to the conflict in Ukraine. Gershkovich covers Russia and Ukraine and is officially accredited as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal’s Moscow office.
His latest assessment, released last week, focused on the stagnation of the Russian economy in the face of Western sanctions.
The Wall Street Journal hired Gershkovich, 31, who had worked for AFP in Moscow. He previously worked as a reporter for The Moscow Times, according to his resume at the Wall Street Journal.
