Russia has formally charged Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich with espionage, according to Russian state news agencies Tass and Interfax, citing law enforcement forces. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) brought the charges a week after the US citizen was detained during a reporting trip to Ekaterinburg in Russia’s Ural Mountains region. The reporter is being held in pre-trial detention at the FSB’s Lefortovo prison in Moscow, a facility where Russia holds most suspects in espionage cases. He is the first US journalist to be detained by Russia since 1986. On Thursday, the US ambassador to Russia Lynne T Tracy discussed Gershkovich with deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov in Moscow.

Source: Wall Street Journal April 08, 2023 00:22 UTC