Today, Friday, March 29, 2024 marked the grim first anniversary of Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich.
Gershkovich was arrested while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and he became the first American reporter to be detained in Russia accused of espionage since the cold war.
He has been held in the Lefortovo prison on the outskirts of Moscow.
At a recent court hearing, Gershkovich was ordered to remain behind bars pending trial at least until June 30, 2024, the fifth extension of his detention.
U.S President, Joe Biden in a statement, condemned Gershkovich’s detention and called for Russia to release him.
“Today we mark a painful anniversary: one year of American journalist Evan Gershkovich’s wrongful detention in Russia,” the President said.
“Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter — risking his safety to shine the light of truth on Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine,” he added.
Biden stressed that the U.S will continue working every day to secure Gershkovich’s release.
“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips. And we will continue to stand strong against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists – the pillars of free society.”
Joe Biden
Biden asserted that the U.S was working to free all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.
“To Evan, to Paul Whelan, and to all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad: We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring you home,” he said.
Paul Whelan, a corporate executive from Michigan, is another American accused of espionage.
He was arrested in 2018 in Russia and sentenced two years later to 16 years in prison. Whelan, who said he traveled to Moscow to attend a friend’s wedding, has maintained his innocence and said the charges against him are fabricated.
U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, noted in a separate statement that both Gershkovich and Whelan have “remained resilient despite the circumstances of living in Russian detention.”
“People are not bargaining chips,” Blinken said.
He added, “Russia should end its practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals for political leverage and should immediately release Evan and Paul.”
Congressional leaders including the Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer; the Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell; House Speaker, Mike Johnson and the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, also issued a joint statement calling for Gershkovich’s release.
“We continue to condemn his baseless arrest, fabricated charges and unjust imprisonment … Today, Putin is restoring Soviet-style control through repression at home and aggression abroad,” they said.
Well Past Time For Gershkovich’s Return
The Wall Street Journal published an open letter by its Editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, which said the charges against its reporter were “bogus and baseless.”
The letter added, “It is well past time for this talented reporter and innocent man to come home.”
“Evan’s detention is a blatant attack on the rights of the free press at a time when evidence abounds around the globe of the vital role that quality journalism plays in our society’s understanding of world events and in bearing witness to history.”
Emma Tucker
She added, “More than 520 journalists are imprisoned worldwide, according to advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. The figure is among the highest the group has ever recorded. Dozens have been killed in the line of duty.”
Moreover, advocacy groups, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued statements.
In a post on X, HRW called Gershkovich’s arrest an “all-out assault on speech and media freedoms” by the Russian government.
Meanwhile, the CPJ said, “His unjust arrest is a brazen violation of press freedom and not only poses far-reaching consequences to journalism and the media, but to governments and democracies everywhere.”
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