The family of American journalist Evan Gershkovich appealed to the UN asking for help in his release.

The family of Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for the American edition of The Wall Street Journal, who was arrested in the case of “espionage”, appealed to the UN with a request for help in his release. this . reports Reuters

According to the publication, Gershkovich's parents and sister submitted a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, whose goal is to investigate cases of unlawful arrests.

“This petition explains that Evan's detention is a violation of his human rights and that Russia must release him immediately. We just want him to come home,” Gershkovich’s father told reporters.

“No family should have to see a loved one used as a political pawn,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal, citing its sources , stated that Russia and Western countries could exchange prisoners.

According to the publication, Russian authorities are looking for the exchange of Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany. He, according to the newspaper's sources, could be exchanged for US Marine veteran Paul Whelan or WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich. The publication also reports that Alexei Navalny may be included in the multilateral deal.

Germany said last year that the exchange of Krasikov, imprisoned for the murder of a Chechen dissident, was impossible on legal grounds, The Times noted .

The State Department, in a commentary to RTVI , stated that the United States will not disclose specific details of the negotiation process. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called this information “speculation.”

Gershkovich was detained on March 29 in Yekaterinburg. The prosecution claims that the WSJ journalist was interested in the attitude of Russians towards the Wagner PMC and visited Nizhny Tagil, where the production of Uralvagonzavod is located. He was sent to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow. At the end of August, his arrest was extended until November.

Bloomberg wrote , citing sources, that Vladimir Putin personally approved the detention and arrest of the journalist. The US State Department officially recognized Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained.” This status opens the way to negotiations on its exchange.

On August 14, US Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy met with Evan Gershkovich in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.