Imprisoned American Journalist Gershkovich: Russia’s Ambassador Very Bravely Responds | Politics

Leading German advertisers and editors – including BILD – have called on Russia to extradite American journalist Ivan Gershkovich (32). should be released immediately and unconditionally.

A Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested on March 29 on espionage charges. He investigated the brutal mercenary group “Wagner” in Yekaterinburg. He faces up to twenty years in prison.

Now there is a shameless response from the Russian ambassador in Germany.

“I read the open letter very carefully,” writes Sergey Nechayev (69) on the messenger service Telegram. And blatantly repeats the baseless accusations: Gershkovich was “arrested in a fatal case while attempting to obtain information classified as state secrets. There is every reason to believe that he acted illegally under the guise of his journalistic status and thereby committed the criminal offense of espionage.”

Exactly what, says the messenger: nothing.

Particularly ridiculous is this sentence from the letter: “Freedom of the press is a universal and inalienable good.” Says the country’s ambassador, it’s nothing but propaganda to its people, especially from state-controlled television!

Since the inauguration of Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, according to Reporters Without Borders At least 37 journalists were killed because of their workD. Like Russian-American investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment building in Moscow in 2006.

In response to the arrest of journalist Gershkovich, several international media outlets withdrew their reporters for security reasons. On-site reporting is becoming increasingly difficult.

Nechayev, however, accused German media representatives of “double standards” for “broadcasting a position that deviates from the Western narrative,” citing sanctions against state broadcasters “Russia Today” and “Sputnik” as examples. In fact, the broadcasters are spreading war propaganda and lies about the brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.

According to Nechayev, the court will decide on Gershkovich: “Efforts to put pressure on law enforcement authorities and the judiciary are futile.”