Russia violating international law by not allowing consular access to WSJ reporter -U.S. State Dept By Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia has not allowed U.S. consular officials access to Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovitch since his arrest late last month in violation of international law, Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Vedant Patil said on Monday.

Patel told reporters at a regular briefing that Moscow had formally informed Washington over the weekend of the arrest, but the US was still seeking consular access with Gershkovitch, who has been held since March 29 on espionage charges.

“At this point, this is a violation of Russia’s obligations under our Consular Agreement and a violation of international law,” Patel said.

The United States and the Soviet Union agreed in a treaty signed in 1964 to allow a consular officer to visit a detained or detained citizen of the other country within two to four days of detention depending on their whereabouts.

“We stressed the need for the Russian government to provide this access as quickly as possible,” Patel added.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Attorneys for the Wall Street Journal visited the journalist, and the newspaper called for his immediate release.

The United States called on Russia to release Gershkovitch and dismissed the allegations of espionage as absurd.