Journalists Of The Wall Street Journal Arrested, Kremlin: If Not Spying, No Need To Be Afraid

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/men's

JAKARTA - Foreign journalists in Russia are worried. Fear began to emerge after the arrest of the newspaper correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich.

The Kremlin arrested Gershkovic for being caught violating state laws.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said foreign journalists in Russia should not be afraid if they do their job and do not use their accreditation as a cover.

"All foreign journalists who have legitimate accreditation can continue journalistic activities in our country. They do not face any boundaries and work calmly," Peskov said.

"But in this case, we are talking about activities under the guise of journalistic espionage," he continued at a press conference in Moscow, Friday (31/3).

Peskov said there was no reason to expel all Russian journalists from Western countries in response to Gershkovich's arrest.

"Legal violations and beyond the activities stipulated by law are one thing, while limiting the rights of honest journalists is another thing. It will be absurd and wrong," he said, as quoted by Anadolu via Antara, Saturday, April 1.

Peskov said he had no details on the Gershkovich case. However, an investigation is being carried out by the Russian Federal Security Service.