“Senseless” nagging a reporter

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in a statement that it is “pointless” to try to influence the Russian judiciary regarding the imprisoned American reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Gershkovich, who works for the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, was arrested in Yekaterinburg at the end of March, on suspicion of espionage.

“The hype surrounding this case, which the US is fueling to try to influence Russian authorities and the judiciary… It is meaningless,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov is said to have told the US ambassador, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry as reported by AFP refers to.

The arrest and detention have been met with strong condemnation from the West. The White House calls the accusation against the journalist “ridiculous”, and the EU’s foreign affairs chief has written on Twitter that Russian authorities “once again show their systematic disregard for media freedom”.

But the Russians insist the reporter was caught red-handed and guilty of espionage — a charge both Gerskovich and his employer, The Wall Street Journal, strongly deny.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested for espionage in Russia since the days of the Cold War. If he is found guilty of espionage, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

31-year-old Evan Gershkovich speaks Russian and has lived in Russia for six years. He previously worked for the AFP news agency in Moscow and before that at the English-language newspaper The Moscow Times. His parents live in the United States but originally come from the Soviet Union, writes AFP.