Evan Gershkovich: US designates Wall Street Journal reporter as wrongfully detained by Russia
CNNApr 04, 2023
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said on Wednesday that Russia was considering granting US diplomats consular access to Evan Gershkovich — the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges — but warned that Moscow "will not tolerate" any attempts from the US to pressure it over the issue.
Ryabkov added that "it has no significance what status they assign to this person in Washington. We will act in accordance with our own internal needs, norms and laws that apply in this situation, and nothing more."
Russia's charges of espionage against Evan Gershkovich are baseless and nothing more than an attack on journalism and dissent. He is being wrongfully detained and the US government is doing everything in its power to have him released.
Russia is acting in full accordance with local and international law with respect to Evan Gershkovich. It will not tolerate attempts from the US government to exert unjustified pressure on Russia over the handling of the case.
There's a 50% chance that The Economist will rank Russia as a Democracy in its Democracy Index by August 2052, according to the Metaculus prediction community.