Russia arrests missing WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg for spying, faces 20 years in prison

Russia detains WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich. Instagram/evangerchkovich

Moscow: Russia has held WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg for espionage. The scribe was on a mission and disappeared last night.

The Russian State Security Service (FSB), which arrested Gershkovich, said it was collecting “secret information” about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex on instructions from the United States.

Criminal espionage charges have been opened against Gershkovich, 32, a US citizen.

“The FSB stopped the illegal activities of American citizen Gershkovich Eva… a correspondent from the Moscow office of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journalaccredited to the Russian Foreign Ministry, suspected of spying for the US government,” the security services said.

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

Earlier, local media suggested that the WSJ journalist was in Yekaterinburg to cover the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Wagner mercenary group.

Most freelance journalists working in Russia fled the country last year after draconian censorship laws were passed, but many foreign journalists continued to work in Moscow.

Gershkovich previously worked as a journalist for Agence France-Presse (AFP) And Moscow time.

With agency contributions.

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