Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said that he has “no doubt” Russia wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last week on accusations of spying.

What You Need To Know

  • Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States' top diplomat, said Wednesday that in his mind, "there is no doubt" that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich "is being wrongfully detained by Russia"

  • Gershkovich was arrested last week on accusations of spying; The Journal has adamantly denied the allegations and demanded his release

  • Blinken, speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, noted that a formal determination about Gershkovich’s situation – which would elevate the U.S. government’s response – has yet to be made

  • The formal designation empowers the government to use a variety of tools, including diplomacy, to secure the release of a captured American rather than simply waiting for a criminal case to make its way through the system

“In my mind, there is no doubt that he is being wrongfully detained by Russia,” Blinken told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, but added that a formal determination about Gershkovich’s situation – which would elevate the U.S. government’s response – has yet to be made.

“In Evan’s case, we are working through the determination on wrongful detention, and there's a process to do that,” he said. “And it's something that we're working through very deliberately, but expeditiously as well, and I'll let that process play out.”

Blinken said that he communicated his opinion on Gershkovich’s status to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the weekend – a rare call between the two diplomats amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine – and “insisted” on his immediate release.

“I want to make sure that, as always, because there is a formal process, that we go through it, and we will, and I expect that to be to be completed soon,” he added.

Blinken also urged Lavrov to release Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned by Russia on spying charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. The U.S. has already determined that Whelan is being wrongfully detained by Russia.

“From my perspective, from the department’s perspective there is no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens around the world," Blinken said.

When the U.S. government formally designates an American as wrongfully detained, it shifts supervision of the person’s case to a specialized State Department section – the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs — that is focused on negotiating for the release of captives.

The designation empowers the government to use a variety of tools, including diplomacy, to secure the release of a captured American rather than simply waiting for a criminal case to make its way through the system.

Lawyers for Gershkovich, the son of immigrants from the Soviet Union who grew up speaking Russian at home in Princeton, New Jersey, have appealed his arrest. The Journal has adamantly denied the allegations and demanded his release. U.S. officials have also called on Russia to free him, with President Joe Biden telling reporters on Friday that his message to Russia was: “Let him go.”

The FSB, Russia's top security agency and a successor to the KGB, said Gershkovich was trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory. He is the first U.S. correspondent to be held on spying accusations since the Cold War.

In its summary of Sunday's phone call, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Lavrov “drew Blinken’s attention to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities" about Gershkovich, who Moscow claims, without evidence, “was caught red-handed.”

The Kremlin said Lavrov also told Blinken it was unacceptable for U.S. officials and Western news media to continue “whipping up excitement” and politicizing the journalist’s detention. "His further fate will be determined by the court,” Lavrov said.

Emma Tucker, the Journal's editor-in-chief, said it was “gratifying” and “reassuring” to learn of Blinken’s call with Lavrov because it shows the U.S. government is taking the case “right up to the top.”

U.S. consular officials have requested a visit with Gershkovich, but no announcement of such access has been made. Officials said they were hopeful consular access could be arranged soon but could not speak to when that might happen.

Lawyers representing Gershkovich met with him in a Moscow prison on Tuesday for the first time since his detention. They said “his health is good,” according to The Journal.

Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, noted on Sunday that the government has advised U.S. citizens to leave Russia. 

"This is not unexpected, in that Russia is acting as an illegal state at this point,” Turner, R-Ohio, told CNN's “State of the Union" on Sunday. "There are no laws or rules or no international norms that they are following."

In alleging that U.S. officials and news media are hyping Gershkovich's detention, Russian officials are reprising a theme they used in the apprehensions of basketball star Brittney Griner and other U.S. citizens.

The Kremlin has said it prefers to resolve such cases quietly and has emphasized the need to follow Russia’s judicial process. Often, that means the chance of progress in U.S. efforts to free its detained citizens isn’t likely until formal charges are filed, a trial is held, a conviction is obtained and sentencing and appeals are completed.

Griner, who plays for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, was detained in February 2022 but was not classified as wrongfully held by the State Department until early that May. She was released in December in a prisoner swap.