MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that Moscow was considering a request from the United States to visit journalist Evan Gershkovich who is being held on spying charges he denies, the Interfax news agency reported.
A hearing in Gershkovich’s case is due later on Thursday.
Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in March on espionage charges after Russia’s FSB security service accused him of collecting military secrets in the city of Yekaterinburg.
Gershkovich and his employer, the Wall Street Journal, strongly deny the charges.
He was initially remanded in custody until May 29, but a court last month extended his detention until Aug. 30.
The United States says he has been wrongfully detained and has called for his immediate release. The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously on Tuesday for a resolution calling on Russia to release him.
(This story has been corrected to fix Gershkovich’s name in the headline)
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Toby Chopra)
