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hoosakiwi t1_je949ti wrote

Not a lot of details in the article, but it’s pretty clear the guy is a legitimate journalist who has covered the region extensively.

> The FSB accused Gershkovich of collecting “information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.” It provided no evidence.

> Gershkovich is a journalist covering Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

> He was previously a reporter for Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times and a news assistant at the New York Times, according to his author page on The Wall Street Journal’s website.

Seems like a ploy by Russia to secure another human pawn that they can use in negotiations with the United States.

We should expect more of this…

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Still_Blueberry5544 t1_je9yn5m wrote

That’s why the US has told every American to gtfo.

Idc who you are with or how much money you have. You’re not protected if you’re an American there, you’re a target.

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apocolipse t1_jeaam58 wrote

Well.... There's 2 exceptions... Steven Seagal and Snowden...
But only because Russia knows we absolutely wont negotiate for Seagal, they can keep him... and we'd just arrest Snowden, so we're not exactly going out of our way to get him back.
Those 2 people who are technically still Americans are pretty safe in Russia from diplomatic/political based retaliatory prosecutions... Literally any other person even those holding US and Russia passports are vulnerable.

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Beagle_Knight t1_jee4kgf wrote

Russia: so you are going to give us any prisoner we want?

US: yup, only one condition.

Russia: and that is…?

US: you keep Seagal.

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Porkchopp33 t1_jea0yrh wrote

Stay out of Russia we can live with out the news stories

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Deranged40 t1_jealis0 wrote

> We should expect more of this…

Is it just me or does it seem like there's a really strange expectation for us to be surprised about this?

Shitty, terrible regime does shitty, terrible things. More at 11.

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DogeSadaharu t1_jef1hwv wrote

The moment the Biden administration traded an arms dealer for Brittany Griner of all people, a WNBA player dumb enough to bring drugs(no matter the amount) into another country; it was to be expected.

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Infinaris t1_jef867l wrote

Start betting money the Russians are pulling this because their FSB asset got busted trying to infiltrate the ICC.

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Sbubbert t1_je9gsz6 wrote

No US citizens should be in Russia. Period. Doesn't matter if you're a journalist or any other job. Everyone has had more than a year to get the fuck out. They know the risks of staying there. It sucks to say this, but we have to leave him there. No swaps. He should have known better. Anyone entering or staying in Russia past the beginning of March 2022 should be on their own, and should not expect the US gov to save them should they be detained.

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Miamime t1_je9qv4z wrote

Well, that’s the point of journalism. Sometimes you put yourself at risk to report on things that the public should know about. There’s a credo amongst hardcore journalists to put the truth above everything else.

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onlycatshere t1_jea0cqp wrote

Journalists like this take a calculated risk. They believe what they are reporting on is worth the chance of state abuse. To say he should have known better is incredibly patronizing

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buck70 t1_jebdsg6 wrote

>They believe what they are reporting on is worth the chance of state abuse. To say he should have known better is incredibly patronizing

That's fair. However, they should expect no help whatsoever from the US government. Otherwise, they are just giving the Russians free bargaining chips.

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ObjectivePitiful1170 t1_jef6rlx wrote

> However, they should expect no help whatsoever from the US government. Otherwise, they are just giving the Russians free bargaining chips.

They give U.S. citizen information. The citizen need them to make informed decisions. They are quite possibly the most important cog of a democracy. There should be no limit to resources needed to make them as safe as possible, to respond to a crisis, and to handle any threat to freedom of the press decisively and punitively.

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deadsoulinside t1_je9q1ag wrote

This is what I was thinking too. Russia has a history of making political prisoners for the sheer purpose of trying to force the US hand into some form of trade for the person back.

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Oleg101 t1_je99jpl wrote

> Updated statement: "The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family."

https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1641381852232536065?s=46&t=UKR1TShxVeunp4_vn5gZrw

> The White House has been in touch with the Wall Street Journal regarding Evan Gershkovich's arrest, I'm told.

https://twitter.com/cgcdlb/status/1641395345757290499?s=46&t=UKR1TShxVeunp4_vn5gZrw

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Hkerekes t1_je969vs wrote

Guilty or not, that reporter is not in for a good time.

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[deleted] t1_jeakb24 wrote

[deleted]

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Hkerekes t1_jealmfa wrote

Probably not, but it won't matter.

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Deranged40 t1_jeam3rk wrote

Guilt is a legal term that refers to whether someone has violated a written law. Guilty absolutely does not inherently mean that something wrong has been done. It just means that something was (or in some cases was not) done, and that thing is against the law. The law may be shitty.

Russia has tons of shitty written laws, some of which may be flat out inhumane or strongly against our beliefs.

Going with your heart and doing the right thing will get you sent to prison in a lot of countries.

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Hkerekes t1_jeanbae wrote

This is Russia we are talking about. Laws are irrelevant when it's political and or advantageous. Honestly not much different than some of the bullshit going on in the US

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wistoon33 t1_je9ma6m wrote

I have no idea why an American would be in Russia right now.

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Makaidi39 t1_je9sfiu wrote

To do his job and report what's going on. Do you want to just be left in the dark, and just trust what ever Russia feels like reporting

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CaptStiches21 t1_jea5bvn wrote

That's a false dichotomy. Russia is sending its own citizens into a war without guns, armor, uniforms, training, first aid, etc., and is very transparent about the belief they are at war with "The West." I appreciate journalists who take dangerous assignments, but being an American in Russia and even whispering any dissent is borderline suicidal. It is probably safer on the front line. We know Russia lies, and we know they capture and torture or kill their enemies. What's left to report within the border? Which dept head "falls out of a window" this week?

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SunBlindFool t1_je9swki wrote

Russia has their own independent journalists that don't buy into the propaganda to tell us what's happening.

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Odd-Employment2517 t1_jea2l1t wrote

They aren't in many cases still living in Russia as they die under the most suspect circumstances if they do

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actuallyimbatman t1_je9zsfp wrote

so you'd rather trust a random "independent" Russian journalist over an American WSJ journalist?

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absolooser t1_jeajbs4 wrote

It’s the journal, owned by Rupert Murdoch, back channels to Heir Trump.

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Zkenny13 t1_je94b2v wrote

Sounds like the US government is going to have to start asking Ukraine to capture high ranking officers. We're going to need something for prisoner swaps. Of course this is only my uneducated idea.

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TheCommodore44 t1_je98e6y wrote

Giving them any prisoners of value is a great way of ensuring Russia continue to abduct foreign nationals on jumped up charges.

If anything, this should prompt a harsh response from the US to dissuade further kidnapping

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Peanuts20190104 t1_je9b7pq wrote

Then west can arrest Putin's girlfriend for Spy reason.

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baguak4life t1_je9zsmx wrote

At this point if you are over there it is completely your own risk. I am not condoning what they did but wild horses wouldn’t drag me to that shithole

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Al_Bundy_14 t1_jea7jan wrote

Don’t know if we have any Russian mass murderers left to trade.

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Colecoman1982 t1_jec64hp wrote

Sure we do: Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity. Margerie Taylor Greene, Josh Hawley, Lauren Boebert, George Santos, Matt Gaetz...

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Addythemench t1_jeauty4 wrote

Can we give them that stupid basketball player back for this guy?

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swizzlemc2pots t1_je9g202 wrote

More or less its just a tightening grip via Kremlin to remove any sort of inside of Russia reporting. Despite, there will always be voices inside. Its a fear tactic, another Griner.

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ohaiihavecats t1_jeaupa7 wrote

I'm not surprised that they detained another "spy," but I am surprised that they arrested a Murdoch employee.

How many days do you figure it'll be before Tucker Carlson claims that he totally was a woke antifa deep state spy, after all?

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icnoevil t1_je9uqzt wrote

It will be interesting to see how those Pootin lovers on Fox News, Tucker and Hannity, react to this news.

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jonjongth t1_jea55bt wrote

Yeah this stinks to high heaven, detaining a Murdoch journalist on spy charges when Murdochs Fox News is your biggest western cheerleader would be detrimental to your narrative, of course that would mean faux news reporting on it with as much visceral enthusiasm as they do testicular tanning.

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Shackleton214 t1_je9jjor wrote

Are there no Russians in America whom we can take hostage (i.e., arrest on bullshit charges)?

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Canadian_Pacer t1_je9zm4o wrote

We can't arrest anyone on bullshit charges, only legit crimes or else Russia can turn around and play "whattaboutisms"

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Ottobahn- t1_jean4hw wrote

Good to know we’re still handing the Russians easy arrests to inevitably trigger yet another prisoner swap down the line.

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TheMountain11 t1_jearii6 wrote

“Hey we need to you to go to Russia to work on this piece”

“Nah Dog, I’m good”

Given they are a hostile country with Anti-American sentiment WHY WOULDN’T they take pawns for trade?

I’ll be damned if I would be offering up pawns.

Americans should be told to stay out or you are on your own once they grab you.

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homebrew_1 t1_jebhag5 wrote

Does this guy have dual citizenship?

1

absolooser t1_jeaiyg9 wrote

Was he spying on the Journal and they gave him up? Or was he actually one of Mirdoch’s boys and this whole thing is a misunderstanding?

0

mincenzo t1_je9s4a6 wrote

Is there another arms dealer they can trade?

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ChillBroBeHappy t1_jebfdyd wrote

Journalist plays stupid game, wins stupid prize. Fuck journalists, they don’t spread actual news. Just a bunch of greedy swine hiding under the guise of truth seekers.

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