Russia demanded that the WSJ change its editorial policy in exchange for the well-being of the arrested journalist

The editors of the American edition of the Wall Street Journal should rethink their approach to their work if they do not want to suffer the “consequences” that will affect the arrested journalist Evan Gershkovich, a Moscow source told RIA Novosti.

“If the Wall Street Journal continues to engage in non-journalistic activities by publishing disinformation about Russia, it will mean that the editorial office is not interested in the fate of Gerszkowicz at all,” the source said.

WSJ journalist Evan Gerszkowicz was detained in Yekaterinburg on March 29. He was interested in the activities of PKW “Wagner” and intended to write an article about the incorporation of local residents into a mercenary company, as well as about the townspeople’s attitude to the war in Ukraine.

The FSB accused Gershkowicz of espionage, claiming that he was “collecting information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, which is a state secret.” The Moscow court of Lefortovo arrested the journalist until May 29. At the same time, attorney Daniil Berman, who had a contract to defend Gerszkowicz, was not allowed to attend the meeting, and the journalist smog just a week after his arrest.

The head of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said that Washington is making every effort to free Gerszkowicz, but pointed out the lack of consular access to the detainee. The Russian Foreign Ministry initially denied that it had prevented the journalist from contacting diplomats, and then stated that the ban had been imposed in response to the refusal to issue visas to Russian propagandists who were supposed to accompany Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a trip to the UN Security Council.

Gershkowicz’s case is being handled by the military counterintelligence FSB, two sources familiar with the situation reported to the Moscow Times. According to one of them, the journalist may in the future become a participant in an exchange for one of the convicted Russians abroad.

Gerszkowicz became the first foreign correspondent to be arrested in Russia since 1986. According to Bloomberg sources, his detention was personally approved by President Vladimir Putin. The journalist faces up to 20 years in prison.