Key Points
- The arrest comes amid bitter tensions between Moscow and Washington over the fighting in Ukraine.
- Mr Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
- He covers Russia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations as a correspondent in the Wall Street Journal's Moscow bureau.
Russia's top security agency has arrested an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal on espionage charges, the first time a US correspondent has been put behind bars on spying accusations since the Cold War.
Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information, the Federal Security Service said on Thursday.
Who is Evan Gershkovich?
Mr Gershkovich is a is a 31-year-old American who has reported on Russia for various outlets for six years.
He covers Russia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations as a correspondent in the Wall Street Journal's Moscow bureau, where he has been working for just over a year.
Mr Gershkovich's last report from Moscow, published earlier this week, focused on the Russian economy's slowdown amid Western sanctions imposed .
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was escorted by officers to a bus in Moscow. Source: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko
Mr Daniloff was released without charges 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union's United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI.
The FSB, which is the top successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, alleged that Mr Gershkovich "was acting on the US orders to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret".
What is Evan Gershkovich accused of?
The agency did not say when the arrest took place. Mr Gershkovich was brought to Moscow, where a court at a closed hearing ordered him held in pre-trial detention until 29 May.
He told the court he was not guilty, but could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
Daniil Berman, a lawyer representing the reporter, was not permitted inside the courtroom or allowed to see the charges, he told media outside.
He believed Mr Gershkovich would be taken to Lefortovo, the 19th century central Moscow jail notorious in Soviet times for holding political prisoners.
The Russian government said it would grant the United States consular access to Gershkovich "in due course".
The FSB noted that he had accreditation from the Russian foreign ministry to work as a journalist, but ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Mr Gershkovich was using his journalistic credentials as a cover for "activities that have nothing to do with journalism".
Mr Gershkovich's arrest follows a swap in December, in which WNBA star behind bars in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was too early to talk of any possible prisoner swap with the US, saying that such deals are typically arranged only after a prisoner is convicted.
How has the US reacted to his arrest?
The Wall Street Journal said it was deeply concerned for Mr Gershkovich's safety, has denied the allegations and is demanding the immediate release of the "trusted and dedicated reporter".
The White House said there was no reason to believe the charges were accurate.
"These espionage charges are ridiculous. The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing.
The US State Department said it stands "in absolute solidarity" with Mr Gershkovich.
Its travel guidance advises US citizens not to go to Russia because of the danger of arbitrary arrest, and says those living there should depart immediately.
The arrest was "a frontal attack on all foreign correspondents who still work in Russia. And it means that the FSB is off the leash," wrote Andrei Soldatov, a Russian journalist outside the country who specialises in the security services.
