Russia rejected a US embassy request to visit jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, saying the measure was in retaliation for a failure to issue visas to its journalists for Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to the United Nations in New York.
(Bloomberg) — Russia rejected a US embassy request to visit jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, saying the measure was in retaliation for a failure to issue visas to its journalists for Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to the United Nations in New York.
The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said it issued a note of protest to a senior US diplomat on Thursday for “provocative” actions that prevented visa processing for Russian media to accompany Lavrov on the visit, where he chaired sessions of the UN Security Council under Russia’s rotating presidency this week.
The embassy was also informed its request to see Gershkovich on May 11 “is being rejected,” the ministry said in a statement on its Telegram channel. “Other possible retaliatory measures are currently being worked out, of which the American side will be duly notified,” it said.
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Gershkovich, 31, is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison on allegations of espionage after he was arrested on March 29 in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Urals region. He’s the first American reporter to be detained on accusations of espionage since the Cold War, a charge that carries a 20-year maximum prison term in Russia.
The Kremlin says he was caught “red handed,” but has provided no evidence. The Wall Street Journal denies the allegations. A Moscow court rejected an appeal in a closed hearing on April 18.
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The State Department has formally determined that Gershkovich has been “wrongfully detained,” opening the way to the US to negotiate on his behalf.
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