US expresses concern over Russia's detention of US citizen journalist, calls for his immediate release

Washington [US], April 2 : The US on Sunday expressed concern over Russia's detention of US citizen journalist Evan Gershkovich and called for his immediate release.

US' concern was expressed by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a telephonic conversation with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist. The Secretary called for his immediate release," according to a readout issued by the US Department of State, attributed to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel.

Blinken further urged the Kremlin to immediately release wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan. The Secretary and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work.

"I spoke with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today to convey our grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist. I called for his release and for the release of wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan," Blinken tweeted on Sunday.

American reporter for Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, Russia's top security agency said on Thursday, reported Al-Jazeera.

WSJ in a statement said, "The Wall Street Journal is deeply concerned for the safety of Gershkovich."

The Federal Security Service (FSB), a top KGB successor agency, said that the WSJ reporter was detained from the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while he allegedly tried to obtain classified information.

In a statement, FSB said, "Gershkovich acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex," read a WSJ report.

The FSB has also alleged that Gershkovich "was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret," according to Al-Jazeera.

The local media stated that he was covering the war in Ukraine and the Wagner mercenary group before getting detained.

The mention of the date of arrest was not there in its statement, however, Gershkovich could be imprisoned for about 20 years if he gets convicted of espionage.

Ever since the Cold War, he is the first journalist from an American news orgsation to be detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage, and his detention comes at a time of intense international concern due to the conflict in Ukraine, according to Al-Jazeera.

Gershkovich covers Russia and Ukraine and was duly accredited as a journalist as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal's Moscow office.

His most recent assessment, which was released last week, concentrated on the stagnation of the Russian economy in the face of Western sanctions.

The Wall Street Journal hired Gershkovich, 31, who was formerly employed by AFP in Moscow. Before, he worked as a reporter for The Moscow Times, according to his bio in Wall Street Journal.

The European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday condemned the Russian detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, he stressed that journalists must be allowed to exercise their profession freely.

Josep Borrell tweeted, "The EU condemns the detention of @evangershkovich, a journalist and U.S. citizen, in Russia. Journalists must be allowed to exercise their profession freely and deserve protection. The Russian authorities demonstrate yet again their systematic disregard for media freedom."