Moscow (EFE).- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, correspondent for The Wall Street Journal in Russia, in the city of Yekaterinburg, the capital of the Urals, for alleged espionage, according to the press department of this entity.
“The FSB aborted the illegal activities of the correspondent of the Moscow branch of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal and American citizen Evan Gershkovich, suspected of espionage in the interests of the US Government,” the service told the Interfax agency.
Shortly after, the American newspaper echoed the information from Moscow on its official Twitter account
Up to 20 years in jail
The Russian authorities claim that Gershkovich “collected secret information on the activities of one of the companies of the Russian military-industrial complex on behalf of the US side.”
“During the attempt to receive secret information, the American was arrested in Yekaterinburg,” said the FSB, which opened a criminal case against him for espionage and which could lead to a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
According to the independent media Meduza, Gershkovich was arrested this Wednesday in front of a restaurant in the capital of the Urals.
The outlet also pointed out that the American reporter was in this city collecting information on the attitude of the Russian population towards the Wagner private army, currently the spearhead of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.
For its part, the local newspaper Vechernie Novosti (Evening News), reported that a reader witnessed the arrest of a man in the center of the city.
“When they took the detainee away, they covered his head with a T-shirt so that passers-by could not see his face,” the outlet added.