US Announces Sanctions on Russia Over Detainment of WSJ Reporter

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Russia on April 18, 2023. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo

The United States announced on April 27 sanctions against Russia’s security service, the FSB, in light of Moscow’s detainment of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

The Biden administration also announced sanctions against Iran for wrongfully detaining Americans.

“These actors in Russia and Iran have tried to use Americans for political leverage or to seek concessions from the United States,” a senior administration official told reporters in a call.

“These actions threaten the stability and integrity of the international political system and also threaten the safety of U.S. nationals and other persons abroad.”

The official said the United States would sanction the FSB “for being responsible for, or complicit in, directly or indirectly engaged in, or responsible for, ordering, controlling or otherwise directing the wrongful detention of U.S. nationals abroad.”

“The FSB has repeatedly been involved in the arrest, investigation, and detention of U.S. nationals wrongfully detained in Russia,” the official said. “Indeed, Russia’s state-owned media outlets have publicly acknowledged the FSB’s involvement in the arrest and investigation of wrongfully detained U.S. nationals.”

That announcement comes as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post published a joint ad in their print editions on April 27 urging support from the U.S. government, including President Joe Biden and the White House, for Gershkovich’s release.

Gershkovich, 31, was arrested on March 29 on spying charges; he’s being held in a Russian prison and has been denied U.S. consular services by Moscow. The State Department has labeled Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained,” a designation allowing greater government resources to be allocated toward securing his release.

“We continue to be shocked and outraged over the wrongful arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is imprisoned by the Russian government for no other reason than newsgathering,” the media organizations stated.

“As editors and publishers of some of America’s largest news organizations, we are united in calling for his immediate release. Reporting is not a crime.”

The sanctions in Iran would target Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization, or IRGCIO, over the wrongful detainments of U.S. nationals, the administration official said.

“The IRGCIO frequently holds and interrogates detainees, including at least one wrongfully detained U.S. national in Evin Prison,“ the official said. ”And Evin Prison has a long and sordid history of human rights abuses, including extensive reports of torture.”

The official also announced that four IRGCIO leaders would be sanctioned for their roles in wrongful detentions.

“Today’s sanctions are one of a series of efforts, some public like this, some private, to secure the release of U.S. nationals wrongfully held overseas to promote accountability for the culprits,” the official said. ”And by doing so, to prevent and deter the next set of cases from arising in the first place.”