Evan Gershkovich: US says journalist is wrongfully detained in Russia

The United States has designated journalist Evan Gershkovich as being "wrongfully detained" by Russia and called for his immediate release.

Mr Gershkovich, an experienced Russia reporter, was arrested last month in the city of Yekaterinburg while working for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

He has since been formally charged with spying, but the WSJ denies this.

It is the first time Moscow has accused a US journalist of espionage since the Soviet era.

The "wrongfully detained" designation in the US means the case will now be transferred to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs. This will raise the profile of the case and allow the government to allocate more resources to securing his release.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "made a determination that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia", State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement.

"We call for the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr Gershkovich," he added.

"Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin's continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth."

In a statement, the WSJ said: "This distinction will unlock additional resources and attention at the highest levels of the US government in securing his release."

"We are doing everything in our power to support Evan and his family and will continue working with the State Department and other relevant US officials to push for his release."

Russia has not granted US consular officials access to Mr Gershkovich, which is in violation of international law, Mr Patel told reporters earlier on Monday.

Last week the Russian foreign ministry said the issue of consular access was being resolved, but added that the "fuss in the US about this case, which was aimed at pressurising the Russian authorities... was hopeless and senseless".

Mr Gershkovich, 31, is well known among foreign correspondents in Moscow and BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg describes him as an excellent reporter and a highly principled journalist.

The WSJ said its reporter had dropped out of contact with his editors while working in Yekaterinburg, about 1,600km (1,000 miles) east of Moscow, on 28 March.

US officials said Mr Gershkovich's driver had dropped him off at a restaurant and two hours later his phone had been turned off. The newspaper was unable to find him in the city.

Russia's FSB security service claimed that it had halted "illegal activities". The journalist had been detained while "acting on US instructions", it added, alleging that he had "collected information classified as a state secret about the activities of a Russian defence enterprise".

FSB agents took him to the Lefortovo district court in Moscow, where he was formally arrested and ordered to remain in detention until 29 May.

Espionage in Russia carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.

In his most recent WSJ piece, Mr Gershkovich reported on Russia's declining economy and how the Kremlin was having to deal with "ballooning military expenditures" while maintaining social spending.

Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders said he had gone to Yekaterinburg to cover Russian mercenary group Wagner, which has taken part in some of the heaviest fighting in eastern Ukraine.