The State Department on Monday officially designated an American reporter as “wrongfully detained” by Russia, after he was arrested in March on espionage charges.
“Today, Secretary Blinken made a determination that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement. “Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth.”
The new designation elevates Gershkovich’s case, sending it to a State Department office that specializes in negotiating the release of hostages and those wrongfully detained in other countries.
