U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy has made her third go to to Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been behind bars in Russia since March on fees of espionage
FILE – Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom on the Moscow Metropolis Court docket, in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2023. On Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy made her third go to to Gershkovich, who has been behind bars in Russia since March on fees of espionage. (AP Photograph/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
The Related Press
MOSCOW — U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy on Monday made her third go to to Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been behind bars in Russia since March on fees of espionage.
Tracy final visited Gershkovich in early July.
“Ambassador Tracy stated that Evan seems in good well being and stays robust, regardless of his very difficult circumstances. Embassy officers will proceed to supply all acceptable help to Evan and his household. And we count on Russian authorities to supply continued consular entry,” stated State Division spokesman Vedant Patel.
“As soon as once more, we name on the Russian Federation to instantly launch Evan Gershkovich, in addition to fellow, wrongfully detained, US citizen, Paul Whelan,” he stated. Whelan was arrested in 2018 and in 2020 was sentenced to 16 years in jail for espionage.
A 31-year-old U.S. citizen, Gershkovich was arrested within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg whereas on a reporting journey to Russia.
He and his employer denied the allegations, and the U.S. authorities declared him to be wrongfully detained. His arrest rattled journalists in Russia, the place authorities haven’t offered any proof to help the espionage fees.
Gershkovich is being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo jail, infamous for its harsh circumstances.
He’s the primary American reporter to face espionage fees in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. Information and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Daniloff was launched 20 days later in a swap for an worker of the Soviet Union’s U.N. mission who was arrested by the FBI, additionally on spying fees.
