Rest of World condemns the arrest and detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by the Russian state.

In the past year, many news organizations have radically curtailed operations in Russia due to safety concerns. This latest action by the Russian government is meant to further intimidate those who would seek to report fairly and accurately from the country. Gershkovich’s arrest represents just the latest incident in a concerning global trend of governments persecuting journalists. We condemn this trend, and strongly support the call for all countries to allow journalists to do their work free from fear of state reprisal or targeting.

We support efforts by all parties, including Wall Street Journal owner Dow Jones, to seek Gerschkovich’s release.