The House of Representatives passed a resolution to call on Russia to release reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in March for alleged espionage. The 31-year-old journalist had been living in the country for six years and was covering the war with Ukraine at the time of his arrest.
The text encourages the Biden Administration to press Vladimir Putin for the release of the Wall Street Journal journalist in “all interactions.”
“No evidence has been presented to back up this accusation. Because there is no evidence. Evan is innocent. He was simply doing his job--reporting on the news in Russia. But we know that the war criminal Putin doesn’t like that,” said Michael McCaul (R-TX), author of the resolution.
“He doesn’t want his own people to know about the atrocities that he is committing in Ukraine. He doesn’t want them to know about the corruption within his own government. Or how he has turned their country into an international pariah,” added the congressman, who has represented Texas’ 10th District since 2005.
According to the lawmaker, Putin arrested the journalist and many others to silence his reporting on the war, which began in February 2022.
Vladimir Putin knows a free press is a pillar of democracy & is dangerous for his regime. That's why he arrested WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich — an innocent man.
America stands with Evan & all Americans wrongfully detained overseas. I will never stop fighting to bring them home. https://t.co/10bGg6HVif
— Michael McCaul (@RepMcCaul) June 13, 2023
The release of Paul Whelan
The resolution also calls for the immediate release of Paul Whelan, the 53-year-old former Marine arrested in 2018 and convicted in 2020 on espionage charges. He is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence.
His name was in the news in July 2022, as the Biden administration tried unsuccessfully to trade his release for that of Viktor Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death.” Negotiations were complicated when Russia asked for the additional release of Vadim Krasikov, a notorious murderer serving a life sentence in Germany.
Finally, Bout was traded for Brittney Griner, an athlete who had been arrested on charges related to drug possession. At the time, the decision was questioned by Republicans and even members of the Department of Defense.
Speaking anonymously, a senior official spoke to POLITICO at the time and indicated: “I think there is a concern that [he] would return to doing the same kind of work that he’s done in the past.”
Another official spoke to The Washington Post and emphasized, "If she were my relative, I would want to do the swap,” but “trading a notorious international arms dealer for a basketball player is madness.”
The State Department has designated Gershkovitz and Whelan as “wrongfully detained,” and the Biden Administration imposed additional sanctions against Russia and Iran in April due to the unwarranted detention of U.S. citizens.
“We are working every day to secure his release, looking for opportunities and tools to bring him home,” the President commented.
Returning to the resolution, he also named Marc Fogel and Vladimir Kara-Murza, both of whom were convicted on Russian soil.
