According to the State Department, jailed Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich and US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy met on Monday in Moscow.
The Hill was informed by a State Department spokesperson that Tracy’s meeting with Gershkovich, who has been held in detention in Russia since March in the Lefortovo jail in Moscow, was the first occasion since April that embassy staff have been permitted consular contact.
According to Ambassador Tracy, Mr. Gershkovich is vigorous and in good condition despite his circumstances.
According to the statement, US Embassy staff will continue to offer Mr. Gershkovich and his family all necessary assistance, and we anticipate that Russian authorities will maintain consular access.
A 31-year-old American citizen named Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg earlier this year on suspicion of espionage after allegedly attempting to gather secret material, according to the Russian Federal Security Service.
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US Officials Condemn Illegal Detention Of Journalist Gershkovich
He is currently being held while awaiting trial. Tracy was given access to Gershkovich, according to TASS, a state-run media agency in Russia, which also reported this on Monday.
At a Council on Foreign Relations event last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US has been fighting for consular access since Day One.
That has more recently been refuted. We still look for it almost every day, according to Blinken.
Paul Whelan and many other Americans who are arbitrarily jailed in various locations across the world are among those we are still looking into ways to get home, he added.
US officials have expressed outrage at Gershkovich’s detention, claiming he was singled out because of his profession as a journalist. According to Vice President Joe Biden, what is taking place is completely illegal.
The US continues to believe that Evan’s entire legal procedure is a fraud, according to Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department, who made this statement last month.
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Source: newsbreak.com