US media attempting to interfere with Russian justice: Russian Embassy

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Apr 2023 10:04

The Russian embassy in Washington says US media outlets use "outright manipulation" in the favor of Washington's ruling circles.

WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich stands in a Moscow courtroom on April 18, 2023, during an unsuccessful appeal against his detention on espionage charges (Reuters)

The Russian embassy in Washington warned against US media attempts to interfere with the justice system in Moscow under the pretext of freedom of speech.

The embassy's remarks came in response to the "hysteric" reactions of US media regarding the Moscow City Court's decision to uphold the detention of The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on spying charges.

"We took notice of another attack of hysteria in the U.S. media on allegedly unlawful detention of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is suspected of espionage after Moscow City Court refused to change the preventive measure for him," the embassy said.

It pointed out that "hiding behind the principles of freedom of speech, the American press is brazenly trying to interfere with the Russian justice as well as to question its independence."

"We stress the irresponsible behavior of The Wall Street Journal editorial board, who called for expulsion of all our journalists working in the United States," the embassy highlighted, adding that US media should stop its ungrounded accusations.

The Russian embassy in Washington considered that "the biased media should slow down and take a sober look at the situation. The American citizen [Gershkovich] is accused of committing acts against the security of the Russian Federation after being caught red-handed."

It considered that "any attempts to portray Evan Gershkovich as an innocent victim and interpret his subversive activities as journalistic duty are outright manipulation."

The embassy acknowledged that the US media outlets use "outright manipulation" in the favor of Washington's ruling circles.

"We urge the American media to stop unjustified accusations of the crackdown against the free press in Russia. Instead, they should assess objectively the state of freedom of speech at home," the embassy said.

It is worth noting that Gershkovich was arrested last month after he was caught by Russia’s Federal Security Service while trying to obtain information classified as secret by the Russian government.

According to the FSB, Gershkovich, "acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex."