On Thursday, Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had detained Wall Street Journal reporter and U.S. citizen Evan Gershkovich in the city of Yekaterinburg. Later that day, a Moscow court ordered Gershkovich to be placed under arrest until May 29 on charges of spying for the U.S. government.

Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said, “By detaining the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, Russia has crossed the Rubicon and sent a clear message to foreign correspondents that they will not be spared from the ongoing purge of the independent media in the country.”

Said called on Russian authorities to “immediately and unconditionally release Gershkovich, drop all charges against him, and let the media work freely and without fear of reprisal.”

The Wall Street Journal said that Gershkovich was detained on Wednesday on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg. The Journal said it “vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter.”