Russia formally charges Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage

Russian investigators have formally charged Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage, according to Russian state media. The charges have not officially been announced.

Gershkovich, an American citizen, was arrested in late March in Yekaterinburg. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced shortly after his arrest that he was suspected of spying for the American government and that a felony espionage case had been opened against him. A publicist who had previously assisted Gershkovich told local media that he was working on a story about the Wagner mercenary group.

Hundreds of independent journalists and media professionals, as well as the U.S. government and numerous major American and international news outlets, have called for Gershkovich’s release.