Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been arrested in Russia on charges of espionage, drawing swift condemnation from the Biden Administration. Gershkovich, 31, had been covering Russia for six years for the Journal, Agence France-Presse and Moscow Times, and was arrested in Yekaterinburg. The US citizen in Moscow pleaded not guilty and was ordered jailed until 29 May. The White House has strongly dismissed the spying charges against Gershkovich as being “ridiculous” and has called for his immediate release.
Trevor Reed, a marine veteran recently freed from Russian custody in a prisoner swap, suggested that the Biden administration should take “definite action” to bring Gershkovich back home. Reed himself was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison after being convicted of endangering the life and health of local police in an altercation, which he denied.
More than 30 media outlets and press freedom advocacy groups have signed a letter to the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, calling for Gershkovich's immediate release. The letter argued that Gershkovich is a journalist and not a spy, and that his arrest is a "significant escalation in [Russia's] anti-press actions". At this time it is unclear if the US will retaliate by expelling Russian diplomats or journalists.
President Biden and Vice President Harris have both condemned the arrest of Gershkovich, and Biden has stated that any further repercussions, such as expelling Russian diplomats, are off the table. Despite the condemnations, the Biden administration has yet to take any action against the Kremlin and send a message that rogue nations can not arrest and imprison Americans with impunity. Gershkovich had been reporting on Russia's war in Ukraine, the impact of western sanctions on the Russian economy, and the recent visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow. This is the first time a US journalist is detained in Russia since 1986.