Lawyers for jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich visited him on Tuesday for the first time, according to the newspaper, nearly a week after Russian authorities arrested the American journalist on spying allegations.
“We are encouraged that Evan’s lawyers … were able to meet with him in prison today,” the Journal’s editor in chief Emma Tucker wrote in an email to the newsroom. “Evan’s health is good, and he is grateful for the outpouring of support from around the world. We continue to call for his immediate release.”
The Journal denies the espionage charges against Gershkovich.
Tucker added: “The legal avenue is one of several avenues we are working to advocate for Evan’s release. We continue to work with the White House, State Department and relevant U.S. government officials to secure Evan’s release.”
U.S. Embassy representatives have been refused consular access, according to the newspaper.
Gershkovich, 31, a reporter of Russian heritage, had “made Russia his second home and was authorized to work in the country,” according to the newspaper. He was on assignment in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, according to Dmitry Kolezev, an independent Russian journalist who was familiar with Gershkovich’s plans.
The newspaper has not released details on Gershkovich’s assignment when he was detained. The Journal did not immediately respond to a request from NBC News for more details on his assignment.
Russia’s domestic intelligence service, the FSB, said Gershkovich was arrested on suspicion of “espionage in the interests of the American government.” It accused him of collecting “information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
The Wall Street Journal has strongly denied the charges against the reporter. In an editorial, the Journal accused the Russian government of taking Gershkovich hostage, calling the espionage…
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