"I want to make sure that, as always, because there is a formal process, that we go through it. And we will, and I expect that to be completed soon," Blinken said during a press conference, when asked about Gershkovich.
Even as the United States engages with other countries to bring detained US citizens home, it can also increase pressure and apply penalties on those who engage in unlawful detentions, Blinken added.
On March 30, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Gershkovich, a WSJ Moscow Bureau correspondent, in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage in favor of the United States. According to the FSB, the journalist was collecting classified information about the activities of one of Russia's military-industrial complex firms. Later that day, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow decided to place Gershkovich in pre-trial detention for two months until May 29.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the reporter had been caught red-handed, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Gershkovich's activities in Yekaterinburg had nothing to do with journalism.
The WSJ has denounced any charges against Gershkovich and demanded his immediate release. EU High Representative Josep Borrel, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and US President Joe Biden, among many other Western leaders, have condemned the journalist's arrest.