KARUIZAWA (Japan) ― US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today reiterated calls for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich after the country’s envoy to Moscow met him in prison.
Ambassador Lynne Tracy visited the journalist yesterday for the first time since he was detained last month on claims of espionage that have been denied by him, the newspaper and US officials.
The US State Department said last week it had sought consular access to Gershkovich since learning of his arrest.
“I can report based on what Ambassador Tracy has said that he’s in good health and good spirits, considering the circumstances. We continue to call for his immediate release from this unjust detention,” Blinken told reporters in Japan today after G7 talks.
Gershkovich, who has been reporting from Russia for six years, was arrested during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals.
Moscow has accused him of trying to obtain classified defence information for the US government. He faces up to 20 years in prison and is due to appeal his detention today.
Russia has classified his case as “secret”, which limits the information available on it.
Last week, President Joe Biden called Russia’s imprisonment of Gershkovich “totally illegal” and told his family he was working to secure his release.
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