Russian officials denied a request by the US Embassy on Thursday to allow a diplomat to see jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Moscow’s Foreign Ministry said it rejected the requested May 11 consular visit after Washington refused to grant visas to a group of Russian journalists.
The ministry previously summoned a senior US diplomat to protest the denial of entry visas to reporters meant to accompany Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the United Nations this week.
“It was particularly emphasized that such sabotage, intended to prevent normal journalistic work, would not go unanswered,” the ministry fumed in its statement.
Lavrov, who traveled to New York to chair the UN’s Security Council, had warned that Russia “will not forget and will not forgive” the insult.
“A country that calls itself the strongest, smartest, free and fair country has chickened out and done something stupid by showing what its sworn assurances about protecting freedom of speech and access to information are really worth,” Lavrov said Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry added that it was considering other unspecified “retaliatory measures” against the US.
Gershkovich was arrested last month and charged with espionage, accused of trying to obtain classified information about a military factory.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said that Gershkovich was caught “red-handed,” but so far no evidence of his guilt has been presented by the authorities.
Both Gershkovich and his employer have denied the spying allegations, and the State Department has designated him as “wrongfully detained.”
The 31-year-old reporter has been languishing in the notorious Lefortovo jail in Moscow for close to a month.
Last week, a defiant-looking Gershkovich appeared before a Moscow judge who rejected his defense team’s bail request and upheld his detention until at least May 29.
Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, was allowed access to Gershkovich in jail the day before the hearing.
Tracy said of the detained journalist that he is “in good health and remains strong.”
Earlier this month, a US hostage envoy vowed to do “whatever it takes” to bring home Gershkovich and retired Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison for espionage.
With Post wires
