According to the announcement issued by the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow, the reporter of the international business daily “The Wall Street Journal” was ordered to be detained for one month and 29 days until May 29 this year.
After this period, his detention can be extended.
Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, citing a law enforcement source, said Gershkovich’s case was considered “completely secret” and that the journalist himself denied the allegations.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced Gershkovich’s arrest earlier Thursday on suspicion of “espionage for the American government.”
The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday it was deeply concerned regarding its reporter and denied the accusations once morest him by Russia.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also expressed deep concern over “what appears to be retaliation”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that he was deeply concerned regarding Russia’s arrest of Gershkovich and condemned Moscow’s efforts to punish Western media.
“We are very concerned regarding the fact that Russia has reportedly detained a journalist who is a US citizen,” according to A. Blinken’s statement.
US officials said they were in contact with the detained journalist’s family and the newspaper, and the US State Department had reached out to Russia for consular access.
“The persecution of US citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable. We condemn in the strongest terms the arrest of E. Gershkovich,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
“I want to strongly reiterate that Americans should heed the US government’s warning not to travel to Russia. US citizens living or traveling in Russia should leave immediately,” she added.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also criticized Russia’s decision to detain an American journalist, saying it showed a complete disregard for media freedom.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States in defense of these basic principles of democracy,” he said on Twitter in response to the Wall Street Journal reporter’s arrest.
Moscow also received condemnation from the European Union.
“Journalists must be allowed to practice their profession freely and deserve protection.” The Russian authorities have once once more shown their systematic disregard for media freedom,” EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell tweeted.
“Caught by the Hand”
He was arrested in Yekaterinburg, a city regarding 1,800 km east of Moscow, but has been transferred to the Russian capital and will be held until May 29 pending a trial.
The Kremlin and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claim that the journalist was “caught by the arm”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Washington not to put pressure on Russian media and journalists working in the United States.
“This must not happen,” he said during the press conference.
Gershkovich, who speaks fluent Russian, worked as an AFP reporter in Moscow before joining the Wall Street Journal early last year.
Before that, he worked as a reporter for The Moscow Times, an English-language news site in the Russian capital.
His family immigrated to the United States from Russia when he was a child.
Gershkovich’s arrest comes at a time when journalists from western Russia face increasing restrictions.
Western media workers have repeatedly claimed that they are being followed, especially during trips outside of Russia’s major cities.
Many Russians avoid interacting with foreign media because of strict censorship laws enacted following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The problem is that under the recently updated Russian laws and the FSB’s concept of espionage, today anyone who is simply interested in war can be jailed [Ukrainoje] affairs,” Russian political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya said on the social network.