Evan Gershkovich has been accused of gathering intelligence about the Russian military industry
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has insisted that the arrest of Evan Gershkovich in Russia is not an attack on journalism or freedom of speech, claiming Moscow has irrefutable evidence of his involvement in espionage.
The Wall Street Journal reporter was apprehended in Ekaterinburg in March 2023 while allegedly attempting to collect classified information about a military facility, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
“We have irrefutable evidence that Gershkovich was engaged in espionage,” Lavrov stated during a press conference in New York on Wednesday, while visiting the US as part of Russia’s presidency of the UN Security Council.
Lavrov mentioned that Russian and American intelligence agencies are in communication regarding potential prisoner swaps, based on an agreement established between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden before June 2021.
“The topic doesn’t like haste,” Lavrov said, adding, “Americans periodically throw it into the public space, which doesn’t help.” However, he stressed that the two countries are in contact regarding the matter and that “this whole thing is no attack on journalism.”
Gershkovich was formally charged in a Russian court last month, accused of acting on behalf of foreign intelligence while attempting to gather classified information about Uralvagonzavod, a major Russian tank and armored vehicle manufacturer, in Ekaterinburg. Both The Wall Street Journal and Gershkovich have denied the accusations, asserting that he is being held unlawfully.
The American was gathering “classified information in secret” and was “caught red-handed,” Putin revealed to journalist Tucker Carlson in an interview in February. Putin further stated that Moscow is open to swapping Gershkovich, citing previous successful negotiations between the countries’ intelligence services and noting that the US and its allies have more imprisoned Russians who might be offered in exchange.
Late last year, the US and Russia conducted a high-profile prisoner exchange, swapping Russian businessman Viktor Bout for WNBA star Brittney Griner. Bout was imprisoned in the US on gun-running charges, which he denied, while Griner was serving a nine-year prison sentence on drug charges after cannabis oil was found in her luggage at a Moscow airport.