The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced today that it has arrested the correspondent of the American newspaper Wall Street Journal, Ivan Gershkovich, for espionage for the benefit of Washington. The journalist, who faces up to 20 years in prison, was sentenced earlier today to pretrial detention for the next two months.

The 32-year-old respected journalist was arrested in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and accused by the Russian authorities of having been tasked “by the American side” with gathering information about “the activities of an operation of the military-defense complex.”

However, the FSB did not provide any evidence to support this claim.

For its part, Russian diplomacy announced that the journalist “caught in the act.”

As Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram, the actions of the Wall Street Journal reporter “had nothing to do with journalism.”

Gerskovich’s mobile phone was not reachable today and, according to the Telegram messaging service, he was last seen online on Wednesday at 13:28 Moscow time.

Who is the 32-year-old Gerskovich

Before joining the US paper’s staff in 2022, Gerskovich was AFP’s Moscow correspondent and before that the Moscow Times, an English-language news site.

He is fluent in Russian as he is of Russian descent and had settled with his parents in the US in his childhood.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Gerskovich was investigating Wagner, the paramilitary mercenary organization fighting alongside the Russians in Ukraine.

Other foreign journalists covering Russia expressed their support for Gerskovich online, saying he was a professional journalist, not a spy.

Andrei Soldatov, a writer and expert on Russia’s security services who is outside the country, wrote on social media:

“Ivan Gerskovich is a very good and brave journalist, not a spy, for God’s sake. It (his arrest) is a frontal attack on all foreign correspondents still working in Russia.”

The future of the “spy”

Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Gershkovich will be transferred to Moscow and held in the capital’s Lefortovo prison, an FSB detention center.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the issue of a possible exchange of Gershkovits was not an issue, the RIA news agency reported.

Prisoner exchanges have taken place in the past for people already convicted, IFX reported. “Let’s see how the situation will develop,” Ryabkov commented to the agency.

As the Russian political analyst, Tatiana Stanovaya, wrote on Facebook, “the FSB considers anyone who is only interested in military matters to be a spy, and he risks being imprisoned for 20 years.”

She even adds that Russia has recently tightened its anti-espionage laws following its invasion of Ukraine, while noting that the FSB was able to take the journalist “hostage” for the purpose of a possible prisoner exchange.

International concern

Gershkovich’s arrest is Moscow’s most serious public action against a foreign journalist since the invasion of Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal – in a brief statement – expressed its “deep concern for the safety” of its reporter.

For its part, the NGO “Reporters Without Borders” stated that it was alarmed by the action that looks like “retaliation”.

France expressed its concern, calling on Moscow to respect press freedom.

“We are particularly concerned and condemn the repressive attitude of Russia” regarding either the Russian or foreign press, Anne-Claire Lezondre, spokeswoman for the French foreign ministry, said during a press briefing.

Americans in Russian prisons

Many US citizens are currently being held in Russia, and both Washington and Moscow have accused each other of politically motivated arrests.

In January, the FSB opened a criminal case against a US citizen it accused of espionage, but did not name.

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, was arrested in Russia in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges. He is being held in a penal colony south of Moscow.

The US maintains that he is a private individual who was visiting Moscow on business and has requested his release.

There have been several high-profile prisoner exchanges between Moscow and Washington over the past year.

In December, Moscow released American basketball player Brittney Griner, who had been arrested for smuggling cannabis oil into the country, in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Russian authorities have also used espionage charges against Russian journalists.

Last year Russia jailed a former defense journalist, 22-year-old Ivan Safronov, on charges of treason.

Safronov worked for the Kommersant newspaper and was one of the most prominent defense journalists in Russia.

Gershkovich’s arrest comes as Western journalists in Russia face increasing restrictions.

Western media personnel often report being watched, particularly during trips outside the major urban hubs of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Many Russians are afraid to speak to foreign media because of strict censorship laws adopted in the wake of the attack in Ukraine.

A US diplomatic source said the embassy had not been informed of the incident and was seeking information from Russian authorities on the case.