Wednesday marks eight months since Russian authorities detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and charged him with espionage. Gershkovich was arrested on March 29 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, making him the first American reporter detained by authorities in that country since the end of the Cold War. Gershkovich may be the first American reporter detailed by Russia in decades, but there should be no illusion about how that country treats domestic news operations. The Ukraine war was the driving force in making 2022 one of the deadliest for journalists in years. The State Department says the WSJ reporter was “wrongfully detained” and transferred his case to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs.

Source: Wall Street Journal November 29, 2023 05:25 UTC