U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he has 'no doubt' that Russia has wrongfully detained an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was arrested last week on spying allegations.
"In my own mind, there's no doubt that he's being wrongfully detained by Russia and that's exactly what I said to Foreign Minister Lavrov when I spoke to him over the weekend and insisted that Evan be released immediately," Blinken told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "But I want to make sure, as always, because there is a formal process that we go through it and we will and I expect that to be completed soon.
The designation empowers the government to use a variety of tools, including diplomacy, to secure the release of a captured American rather than simply waiting for a criminal case to make its way through the system. The FSB, Russia's top security agency and a successor to the KGB, said Gershkovich was trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory. He is the first U.S. correspondent to be held on spying accusations since the Cold War.
The Kremlin said Lavrov also told Blinken it was unacceptable for U.S. officials and Western news media to continue "whipping up excitement" and politicizing the journalist's detention. "His further fate will be determined by the court," Lavrov said. Lawyers for Gershkovich met with him in a Moscow prison on Tuesday for the first time since his detention. They said "his health is good," according to The Journal.
The Kremlin has said it prefers to resolve such cases quietly and has emphasized the need to follow Russia's judicial process. Often, that means the chance of progress in U.S. efforts to free its detained citizens isn't likely until formal charges are filed, a trial is held, a conviction is obtained and sentencing and appeals are completed.
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US Secretary of State says Wall Street Journal reporter ‘wrongfully detained’ by RussiaU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has “no doubt” that Russia has wrongfully detained an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was arrested last week on spying allegations. russia politics us wsj kprc2
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There is 'no doubt' that U.S. journalist has been wrongfully detained by Russia, Blinken saysThe secretary of state said he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the U.S. was “gravely concerned” about the detention of The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich.
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'No doubt' US reporter being 'wrongfully detained' in Russia, Blinken says'“In Evan [Gershkovitz]’s case, we are working through the determination on wrongful detention,' SecBlinken said of the WSJ reporter detained in Russia. While Blinken believes Gershkovitz is being wrongfully detained, the process is still ongoing.
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Blinken says WSJ reporter 'wrongfully detained' by RussiaU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he has “no doubt” that Russia has wrongfully detained an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was arrested last week on spying allegations. Blinken said the legal process for such a determination would be completed soon. “In Evan’s case, we are working through the determination on wrongful detention and there’s a process to do that and it’s something that we’re working through very deliberately, but expeditiously as well,' he said.
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Blinken says WSJ reporter 'wrongfully detained' by RussiaU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has “no doubt” that Russia has wrongfully detained an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was arrested last week on spying allegations.
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Blinken says WSJ reporter 'wrongfully detained' by RussiaU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has “no doubt” that Russia has wrongfully detained an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was arrested last week on spying allegations. But he says he has not yet made a formal determination of the designation for Evan Gershkovich. That would elevate the priority of his case within the U.S. government. Blinken also repeated his call for Russia to immediately release Gershkovich. He made the comments on Wednesday at NATO headquarters following two days of talks among the alliance's foreign ministers. Russia accuses Gershkovich of espionage, a claim Americans deny.
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