The story of Alexandrov Gershkovich: a reporter in Moscow after he was arrested on espionage charges

There is concern that Russian authorities might detain a correspondent from a U.S.based organization amid the larger tensions between the two countries, like the one unfolding with Mr. Gershkovich.

In a statement, the agency alleged that Gershkovich, “acting on an assignment from the American side, was gathering information classified as a state secret about the activity of one of the enterprises of Russia’s military-industrial complex.”

“Until today, there was a hope among foreign correspondents working in Russia that these crackdowns on independent reporting would not extend to them,” said Gulnoza Said, a coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, which monitors press freedoms abroad. It is clear to everyone that any foreign correspondent could be a victim with these serious charges.

Mr. Gershkovich, 31, has worked for The Journal in Moscow since January 2022 and previously reported in Russia for Agence France-Presse and for The Moscow Times. Before that, he was a news assistant for The New York Times.

Hours later, the Kremlin endorsed Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest. “We’re not talking about suspicions,” Dmitri S. Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, said, adding, “He was caught red-handed.” Mr. Peskov could not say who the other person was.

The Biden administration said it was “deeply concerned” by Mr. Gershkovich’s detention, and State Department officials had contacted Russian authorities to secure access to the reporter and check on his welfare.

Since then, correspondents — including Mr. Gershkovich — had continued to receive accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry and had generally been able to operate freely.

Photos and video appeared to show Mr. Gershkovich wearing a jacket hood while leaving the court building in Moscow. The Russian news agency Tass reported that he pleaded not guilty to espionage charges.

In past espionage cases, after a guilty verdict, Russia has sought an exchange for a Russian spy held in the West. In exchange for the two Russian spies, Moscow freed a Norwegian who had been held for over two years on espionage charges.

A prisoner swap between Moscow and the United States freed a Russian arms dealer from the U.S. custody after the release of an American actress, who was on a minor drug charge.

The United States is pushing for the release of Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russia for over a year and sentenced to 16 years in prison for what the United States considers sham espionage charges. David said that he questioned if the White House considered his brother’s case a priority.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister said it was too late to talk about a swap. “Certain exchanges that took place in the past took place for people who were already serving sentences,” Mr. Ryabkov told reporters, according to the Russian news agency Interfax, adding, “Let’s see how this story will develop.”

Mr. Gershkovich’s report on the Russian military is most likely why the Russian security services were interested, according to Ms. Stanovaya.

She believes that his arrest will attract a lot of attention in the United States, which will in turn force the authorities to react.

Mr. Peskov, the spokesman for Mr. Putin, said that the Kremlin was not planning to shut down The Journal’s Moscow bureau. If they are carrying out normal journalistic activity, and have a valid accreditation, then they will continue to work.

The Journal recently named a new top editor, Emma Tucker. In her previous job as deputy editor of The Times of london, Ms. Tucker was involved in the case of two correspondents who were kidnapped in Syria. Two people were shot and one of them was beaten up before they were able to escape.

“As we have seen too often, the arrest of journalists anywhere in the world deprives the public of news that is essential to all of us,” Ms. Rhoades Ha said. She said The Times currently had no reporters in Russia.