United States urges Russia to free 'wrongfully detained' Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

Washington, United States: The United States stepped up pressure on Russia on behalf of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Monday. The US concluded that Russia had wrongfully detained Gershkovich and demanded his immediate release.Russia has charged a US journalist with espionage for the first time since the Soviet period, and the State Department's formal decision regarding Gershkovich, who was brought into jail on 29 March, was made unusually quickly and demonstrated the importance given by Washington to the matter.Secretary of State Antony Blinken "made a determination that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said."We call for the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr Gershkovich," Patel said in a statement.""Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin's continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth," Patel said.There had been little doubt that the United States would reach the determination on Gershkovich, with Blinken telling reporters last week that he felt the detention was unjust.But US officials said they were required to work through a legal process and show due diligence on the case.In practical terms, the determination means that Gershkovich's detention will be handled by the US special envoy on hostage affairs, Roger Carstens, giving more resources to the case.Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg, some 1,800 kilometres (1,100 miles) east of Moscow. Russian news agencies said Friday he was charged with espionage, an allegation denied by Gershkovich and The Wall Street Journal and which the White House called "ridiculous."Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.