More than 30 news organizations around the world have signed a letter to the Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, demanding the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia on charges of espionage. Gershkovich was arrested by Russia's Federal Security Service and accused of obtaining classified information about military-industrial activities in the country. The allegations have been refuted by the Journal, which has demanded Gershkovich's release. The arrest is the first such of an accredited Moscow correspondent for a US news organization since the end of the Cold War. The leaders of news organizations including the Associated Press, The New York Times, TIME, and The Economist have described the arrest as an escalation of Moscow's "anti-press actions" and accused the country of criminalizing journalism.