MOSCOW, 30 March-RIA news. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RIA Novosti that the arrested WSJ reporter American Evan Gershkovich was given consular access.

When asked whether the detainee was granted consular access, he answered “yes”. He did not provide any details.

The FSB stopped the illegal activities of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, an American citizen. He was detained in Yekaterinburg, a case of espionage was opened.

Earlier on Thursday, the FSB announced that Gershkovich, a correspondent for the WSJ’s Moscow bureau, was detained in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of spying on behalf of the US government. According to the intelligence service, the American collected information “about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex”, which constitutes a state secret. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Gershkovich was caught red-handed.

The WSJ denied the allegations against Gershkowitz and demanded his immediate release. In response, Zakharova said that Gershkovich’s activities in Yekaterinburg “have nothing to do with journalism.”