US to deem reporter held in Russia as ‘wrongfully detained’

The US State Department is preparing to declare that Evan Gershkovich, an American Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested by Russian security services last week, was “wrongfully detained,” according to a report.

The US was gearing up to make the designation as soon as this week, a move that would amplify federal efforts to win Gershkovish’s release, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The declaration would boost the 31-year-old journalist’s case to a State Department’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which helps negotiate the release of hostages and other Americans deemed to be wrongfully detained in other countries.

By asserting Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained,” US government agencies will have greater resources to work on obtaining his secure release.

The designation also allows the State Department to put greater pressure on Russia, monitor intelligence, build diplomatic coalitions, and more, according to The Journal.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted Tuesday that Gershkovich’s release is a priority.

“These charges are ridiculous. Evan isn’t a spy. Evan has never been a spy. Evan has never worked for the US government, and he is an independent journalist employed by The Wall Street Journal,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.

The White House declined to say on Tuesday whether the US would consider a prisoner swap to secure Gershkovich’s safe return home.

Gershkovich was detained Wednesday while on assignment in the city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage. He has reported on Russia for six years at various publications including The Wall Street Journal, Agence France-Presse and The Moscow Times.

The US national, whose parents emigrated from the Soviet Union, was accused of gathering information classified as a state secret about a military factory. Russian officials did not provide evidence of his crime.

If convicted, Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison.

During a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded the immediate release of the Wall Street Journal reporter.

Blinken also reiterated the Biden administration’s demand that “wrongfully detained” American Paul Whelan be released from a Russian prison.

Whelan, a former Marine, has been imprisoned for four years, as part of a 16-year sentence, on charges of espionage that he and the US continue to deny.