Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan are in custody in Russia for alleged espionage. Moscow has apparently “explicitly” rejected a new offer from the US government for release.
According to its own statements, the US government has made a new offer to Moscow to release the Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan who are imprisoned in Russia.
“In recent weeks, we have made a new and significant proposal to secure the release of Paul and Evans. This proposal was rejected by Russia,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. He did not provide any details about the offer. It wasn’t that Moscow didn’t react to it, Miller continued. It was explicitly a rejection. Miller emphasized that Gershkovich and Whelan were wrongly imprisoned.
Gershkovich, Russia correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested for alleged espionage while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg at the end of March. The public prosecutor’s office accuses him of having collected state secrets about the activities of a Russian defense company “at the direction of the American side.” Gershkovich and his employer, the Wall Street Journal, deny that he carried out espionage there. A Moscow district court recently extended Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention until January 30. The American Whelan has been imprisoned in Russia for several years – also for alleged espionage.
Source: Stern
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