[news] White House condemns WSJ journalist arrest and says State Department is in "direct touch" with Russia on topic

[Amaterasu イタチ]

 

The Biden administration is “deeply concerned" over reports Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been detained in Russia on charges of espionage, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. 

“Last night, White House and State Department Officials spoke with Mr. Gershkovich’s employer, the Wall Street Journal. The Administration has also been in contact with his family. Furthermore, the State Department has been in direct touch with the Russian government on this matter, including actively working to secure consular access to Mr. Gershkovich,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
“The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable. We condemn the detention of Mr. Gershkovich in the strongest terms," she added.

The press secretary also noted the State Department's advise for Americans to not travel to Russia, and added that if they are currently residing or traveling there, then they should "depart immediately."The United States government is “deeply concerned over Russia’s widely-reported detention of a U.S. citizen journalist,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Thursday following the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Blinken said the department is in contact with the Wall Street Journal, according to the statement which did not directly name Gershkovich.

“Whenever a U.S. citizen is detained abroad, we immediately seek consular access, and seek to provide all appropriate support," Blinken said.
“In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices,” the statement added.

Gershkovich is the first journalist to be accused of spying by Russia since 1986, when reporter Nick Daniloff was detained on a similar charge while working for the US.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-03-30-23/index.html