Russia detains WSJ reporter on suspicion of espionage

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia on Thursday detained US citizen Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal correspondent, on suspicion of espionage, state media said.

"The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has thwarted the illegal activities of Evan Gershkovich, a US citizen born in 1991 ... who is suspected of spying in the interests of the American government," the FSB told the state-run TASS news agency.

"It was established that Evan Gershkovich, acting at the request of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex. The foreigner was detained in Yekaterinburg while attempting to obtain classified information."

Investigators have initiated a criminal case against the US citizen under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code (Espionage), the report said.​​​​​​​