Joe Biden called on Moscow on Friday to release a US journalist arrested in Russia whose employer Wall Street Journalcalls for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador and the journalists stationed in the USA.
• Also read: Wall Street Journal reporter arrested by Russia for ‘espionage’
“Let him go,” launched the American President for the Russian government in the face of journalists who sought his first public reaction to this affair in the White House.
Evan Gershkovich, a 31-year-old Russian-speaking reporter known for his thoroughness, was arrested in Yekaterinburg in the Urals on suspicion of “espionage.”
“Expelling the Russian ambassador and the Russian journalists working there from the United States would be the least we can do,” says the American daily in an editorial published overnight from Thursday to Friday.
“The timing of the arrest looks like a calculated provocation to embarrass the United States and intimidate the foreign press that is still working in Russia,” he added.
The editor of the “WSJ” assured in a letter to the employees on Friday evening that everything would be done to “ensure Evan’s release” and thanked those who had mobilized in this direction in the past few days.
“Evan is a member of the free press who was doing his job as a journalist until his arrest. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong,” writes Emma Tucker, calling Russia’s actions “completely unjustified.”
The Kremlin on Thursday warned Washington against any form of reprisals against Russian media outlets operating in the US after the arrest of the American journalist who Moscow said was caught “in the act” of espionage.
“On the demand for the expulsion of all Russian journalists, the newspaper [le WSJ] you can say that, but that shouldn’t happen. There is simply no reason for that,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday. He added that the American journalist “was caught red-handed [d’espionnage] and that “the situation is clear”.
Classified as “secret”.
According to the Russian state news agency Tass, Evan Gershkovich denied the allegations against him during a hearing in a Moscow court. The American journalist was nevertheless held in custody until May 29, a measure that can be extended pending a possible trial.
According to Tass, the case has been classified as “secret,” which limits the release of information about it.
The only details available at this time: The FSB announced that it had “frustrated an illegal activity” by arresting Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg on an unspecified date.
His arrest comes in the context of increased repression in Russia against the press since the offensive against Ukraine, which has severely strained relations between Moscow and Washington.
It also follows an exchange in December between American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was incarcerated in Russia, and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is incarcerated in the United States.
AFP
Brittney Griner and Victor Bout.
The White House spoke of an “unacceptable” arrest and spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre called the espionage allegation “ridiculous,” while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “extremely concerned.”