Wall Street Journal Reporter Arrested in Russia on Espionage Charges: Family Appeals to UN

The family of Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal arrested in Russia on espionage charges, has appealed to the United Nations for assistance in securing his release.

Gershkovich's relatives have submitted a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. “This statement explains that Evan's detention is a violation of human rights, and that Russia should immediately release him. We just want him to come home,” said Mikhail Gershkovich, the reporter's father, to journalists.

It is worth noting that Evan Gershkovich was arrested in late March in Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage. According to the Federal Security Service, the journalist gathered secret information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex “at the direction of the American side.”