Putin defined his executive’s rationale for detaining Gershkovich,
who was arrested in Russia on espionage fees in March 2023. The journalist was once “caught red-handed” day acquiring unrevealed data, the Kremlin chief mentioned.
“The person gets secret information and does that in a conspiratorial manner, then this is qualified as espionage. And that is exactly what he was doing. He was receiving classified confidential information,” Putin mentioned.
Moscow has equipped refuse proof that Gershkovich was once spying on Russia all over his pace within the nation. The Wall Boulevard Magazine has denied that Gershkovich was once spying, and the Biden management
has called for his release.
Putin stressed out that Gershkovich didn’t need to be a secret agent to run afoul of Russia’s espionage laws: “He’s not just a journalist, I reiterate, he’s a journalist who was secretly getting confidential information.”
The Kremlin chief added that there’s an “ongoing dialogue” for Gershkovich’s reduce and mentioned it “doesn’t make any sense to keep him in prison in Russia … we are ready to talk, moreover, the talks are on their way.”
Gershkovich’s detention continues a fable of American citizens jailed in Russia for the reason that struggle with Ukraine started, maximum significantly with WNBA participant
Brittney Griner’s detention on drug fees in 2022. She was once excepted in an alternate for Russian fingers broker Viktor Bout virtually a past then.
