The Gershkovich Arrest

The Russian arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinberg on March 29 for espionage has created a furor in the U.S. The newspaper calls the incident an example of "hostage diplomacy", probably an accurate assessment. It's important, however, to look at this affair in its actual context.

A previous example of this tactic might have been the arrest and incarceration of American female basketball star Brittney Griner. That case involved the discovery of an illegal narcotic in her possession as she passed through customs upon entering the country. This could have happened anywhere, including the US, and would have been of little note had Griner been a  relatively anonymous ordinary citizen instead of a giant black professional female basketball player.

While the Wall Street Journal has been adamant that their employee is innocent of any espionage, neither we nor they can be entirely sure of that. After all, a highly-respected US FBI agent is now under arrest in the US for what amounts to espionage. And being a journalist is hardly a guarantee that espionage couldn't be part of one's resume.

The US regularly investigates, arrests, incarcerates and deports foreigners suspected of espionage both within and outside the country. One of the most dramatic examples of this is the case of Maria Butina, whose sad story is told here. An even greater cause celebre is Julian Assange, still in asylum or held prisoner in the UK for the last eleven years over openly revealing US classified information.

The point is that when the US engages in its own brand of hostage diplomacy it must expect its citizens to receive similar treatment in similar circumstances, especially from nations that it considers adversaries. It's a sad fact that Mr. Gershkovich is a pawn in international hostage diplomacy, something in which the US is a willing participant. In fact, the US has legitimized the practice in its conduct toward, Assange, Butina, Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, Russian Victor Bout and medicine researcher Tang Juan among many.