“American journalist Evan Gershkovich arrested for spying in Russia amidst new US sanctions on Iran and Russia”

On Thursday, the Biden administration announced a series of sanctions targeting Russia and l’Iran. Washington accuses the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation of having engaged in ” wrongful detention of U.S. nationals overseas ».

On condition of anonymity, a senior US official said the decision by the UNITED STATES show ” that it is not acceptable to resort to this despicable behavior consisting in using human beings as pawns, currencies of exchange, without paying the consequences “. While Iran and Russia have previously been sanctioned by Washington, this new series aims to ” hold the culprits accountable, and thus prevent that such cases happen again.

Political detentions

Thursday, March 30, Russia announced the arrest and remand in custody of Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist from the Wall Street Journal. A week after the events, the reporter was officially prosecuted for ” spying by the Russian authorities, although he rejected ” categorically these charges. The Kremlin says he was arrested in ” flagrant offense spy “, without advancing any evidence, and accuses him in particular of collecting information on the defense industry. Evan Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison.

As far as Iran is concerned, at least three Iranian-Americans are being held, including businessman Siamak Namazi. He was arrested in October 2015 in Iran, too, on espionage charges that he still continues to deny.