The State Department said on Monday that Secretary of State Tony Blinken has formally determined Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was "wrongfully detained" by Russia.
Why it matters: The formal determination transfers supervision of the case to the State Department's Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which will work with other government and non-government agencies and organizations to "develop a strategy to secure" Gershkovich's release.
The big picture: Blinken had earlier said there was "no doubt" that Gershkovich had been wrongfully detained, but the case had to go through the State Department determination process.
- Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in late March — the first time Russia detained a U.S. journalist on spying charges since the Cold War.
- The Wall Street Journal has said it "vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich."
What they're saying: "Journalism is not a crime," State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement announcing Blinken's determination.
- "We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth," the statement added.
- "The U.S. government will provide all appropriate support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family. We call for the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr. Gershkovich."
- The U.S. also called on Russia to release "wrongfully detained" U.S. citizen Paul Whelan, who has been jailed since December 2018 on charges of espionage — allegations the U.S. rejects.
State of play: Patel told reporters earlier Monday that Russia did notify the Biden administration that Gershkovich was detained, but has not granted U.S. consular officials access to the reporter as required by a 1964 treaty between the U.S. and then-Soviet Union.
- "At this point, it is a violation of Russia's obligations under our consular convention and a violation against international law," Patel said during a press briefing. "We have stressed the need for the Russian government to provide this access as soon as possible."
Background: Gershkovich has worked at the WSJ since January 2022 as part of the paper's Moscow bureau, where he helped cover the war in Ukraine, Russia, and other former Soviet states.
- Russia's FSB acknowledged in a statement that Gershkovich was accredited as a journalist by Russia's foreign ministry, per RIA Novosti.
Go deeper: How Putin's truth lockdown challenges the promise of an open internet
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel.
