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US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy on Monday (Apr 18) said she had made her first visit to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who Moscow arrested two weeks ago on charges of spying.
“He feels well and is holding up. We reiterate our call for Evan’s immediate release,” Tracy said in a statement in Russian on Telegram.
Gershkovich, who was hired by the Wall Street Journal shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine last year, was arrested last month in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. It is the first time since 1986 that an American reporter has been held for alleged espionage in Russia.
His newspaper has rejected the charge, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The White House has called it “ridiculous”, and President Joe Biden has said Gershkovich’s detention is “totally illegal”.
Tracy did not say how long she had spent with the reporter in Moscow’s Lefortovo pre-trial detention centre. The visit took place on the eve of a court hearing that is due to consider Gershkovich’s appeal against his detention.
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