The US ambassador to Russia visited journalist Evan Hershkovich in the pre-trial detention center

On Monday, the US ambassador to Moscow, Lynn Tracy, visited The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Hershkovych, who is accused of espionage by the Russian authorities, in a pre-trial detention center. Hershkovich denies the charges.

This is the ambassador’s third meeting with Hershkovich since his arrest in March. Tracy reported that the journalist, despite the circumstances, is healthy and keeps his presence of mind.

The messages of the US embassy do not indicate at what stage the negotiations on the possible exchange of Hershkovich are. Earlier, the fact of such negotiations was confirmed by the national security adviser of the US president, Jake Sullivan, but clarified that “there is still no clear way to resolve the issue.”

If Hershkovich is found guilty by a Russian court, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

• WSJ journalist Evan Hershkovich was detained on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, the next day a court in Moscow sent him to the “Lefortovo” pre-trial detention center. The FSB claims that Hershkovich was collecting secret information on one of the enterprises of the military-industrial complex at the behest of the United States.
• Hershkovich pleaded not guilty. The editors of The Wall Street Journal categorically rejected the accusations of espionage and stated that Hershkovich was doing his job. In particular, he asked residents of Yekaterinburg about their reactions to the losses incurred by PMC “Wagner” in Ukraine.
• The US State Department recognized journalist Evan Hershkovich as “unlawfully detained” by Russia. This status is equivalent to the status of a hostage and allows Washington to use additional mechanisms to achieve his release – in particular, to negotiate the exchange of an American citizen.