Russia Detains American Reporter on Allegation of Spying

Russia Detains American Reporter on Allegation of Spying

A court in Russia ruled that an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal newspaper should be detained for nearly two months. The reporter was accused of spying for the United States.

It is the most serious move against a foreign reporter since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia's FSB security service said Thursday it opened a criminal case against U.S. citizen Evan Gershkovich on suspicion of spying. Russia's government said he had been "caught red-handed."

Gershkovich was working for the Journal for just over a year. He told the court he was not guilty. The case is believed to be the first criminal case for spying against a foreign journalist in post-Soviet² Russia.

Spying under Russian law can be punishable by up to 20 years in jail.

The case will worsen the already poor relations between Russia and the United States. The U.S. is Ukraine's biggest military supporter and has issued sanctions against Russia to try to get it to withdraw its troops.

The FSB accused Gershkovich of gathering³ secret information about a Russian military factory. It did not name the factory or say where it was. The FSB said it had detained the 31-year-old reporter in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg as he was trying to gather secret information.

The FSB did not provide evidence of his guilt¹.

"It has been established that E. Gershkovich, acting⁴ on an assignment from the American side, was gathering information classified as a state secret ...", the FSB said.

The Wall Street Journal said in a statement that it strongly denies the charges. The newspaper "seeks the immediate⁵ release of our trusted and dedicated⁶ reporter."

Gershkovich is the most notable American arrested by Russia since basketball star Brittney Griner. She was caught arriving in Moscow with cannabis oil a week before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She was freed in a prisoner exchange 10 months later.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow had no comment about the situation. A U.S. diplomatic source told Reuters that the embassy had not been informed about the arrest and was seeking information from Russian officials.

Gershkovich is expected to be held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, an FSB pre-trial detention⁷ center.

Gershkovich, the son of Soviet Jewish immigrants, has reported on Russia since 2017. He joined the Wall Street Journal's Moscow office in January last year. In recent months, he had mainly covered Russian politics and the conflict in Ukraine.

Yaroslav Shirshikov is a political expert in Russia. He told Reuters he was interviewed by Gershkovich two weeks ago and was supposed to meet him again on Thursday.

He said the reporter had asked him about local people's feelings towards the Wagner mercenary group, which is fighting in Ukraine. Gershkovich told him he planned to travel to Nizhny Tagil, a city that is home to a big tank factory. There, Shirshikov said, Gershkovich planned to ask locals about their opinions on the Ukraine conflict.

Shirshikov said Gershkovich had not said anything about wanting information about a military factory and was not "an enemy of Russia."

Russia has tightened⁸ censorship laws since the beginning of the invasion. The definition of a state secret, especially concerning military issues, has also been expanded.

Tatiana Stanovaya is founder⁹ of a political analysis group. She said Russian law permits "the imprisonment¹⁰ of anyone who is simply interested in military affairs."

She said it appeared Russia had taken Gershkovich "hostage" for a possible future prisoner exchange.

Words in This Story

caught red-handed — idiom. to be caught in the act of a crime

journalist — n. the activity or job of collecting, writing, and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio

sanction — n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc.

classified — adj. kept secret from all but a few people in the government

dedicated — adj. having very strong support for or loyalty¹¹ to a person, group, cause, etc.

cannabis — n. a drug that comes from the hemp¹² plant and is smoked illegally

source — n. a person, book, etc., that gives information

interview — n. a meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information

mercenary — n. a soldier who is paid by a foreign country to fight in its army

censorship — n. the system or practice of censoring¹³ books, movies, letters, etc.

analysis — n. a careful study of something to learn about its parts, what they do, and how they are related to each other

1 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

11 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

12 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。

13 censoring   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Therefore, exhibitors shall not make use of these materials before censoring. 展商在审查前不可使用这些资料。
• The company then said it would end self-censoring search results, putting it at odds with Beijing. 随后该公司表示，将停止自我审查搜索结果，从而与中国政府发生对抗。