The US State Department has issued a statement formally accusing Russia of wrongfully jailing a US reporter for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russian security forces and charged with espionage in late March; he is now awaiting trial. US media organisations have rallied in response to his imprisonment and demanded his release, calling the Russian government’s claims absurd. Mr Gershgovich had previously lived in the country for more than a half decade before his arrest.
