Wall Street Journal Journalist Arrested by Court in Espionage Case

Moscow, March 30 – The Moscow Lefortovo Court detained American Ivan Gershkovich, an employee of the Wall Street Journal newspaper, for two months in a criminal case of espionage, the court’s press service reported to the News Agency.

“The court approved the investigation’s petition and opted for a preventive measure for Gershkovich in the form of detention until May 29,” the source said.

The meeting took place behind closed doors – a common practice in matters relating to state secrets – and after a pause associated with the evacuation of the court due to a false report of “mining”.

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation announced today that Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal’s Moscow bureau, has been arrested in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage for the United States government.

According to the intelligence service, the American collected information that constitutes a state secret “about the activities of one of the companies belonging to the Russian military-industrial complex.” Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Gershkovich was caught in the act.

The Wall Street Journal denied the allegations against Gershkowitz and called for his immediate release. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Gershkovich’s activities in Yekaterinburg had “nothing to do with journalism”.

The article “Espionage” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 10 to 20 years.