Journalist Evan Gershkovich in July 2021. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. ambassador to Russia met with detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Moscow on Monday, the State Department said.
Driving the news: Lynne Tracy's second-only prison meeting with the journalist comes after U.S. officials repeatedly requested to visit Gershkovich, who is the first American journalist to be detained in an espionage case since the Cold War, per the Wall Street Journal. U.S. officials say Gershkovich is being "wrongfully detained."
- "Ambassador Tracy reports that Mr. Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances," a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement Monday evening.
- "U.S. Embassy officials will continue to provide all appropriate support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family, and we expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access."
The big picture: Russian authorities detained Gershkovich while he was on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow, on March 29.
- He's being held at Moscow's Lefortovo Prison, which is known for its harsh conditions, and has had his detention extended to at least Aug. 30.
- Russia's Federal Security Service accused the reporter of trying to obtain classified information "on the instructions of the United States," but U.S. officials called the claims "baseless."
- The U.S. imposed sanctions on the FSB in late April for its role in the wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens, including Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. The spokesperson renewed calls Monday for their immediate release.
Zoom out: Moscow has faced widespread backlash over Gershkovich's arrest from dozens of countries that have called for his release and an end to Putin officials' clampdown on freedom of expression in the country.