March 29th marked the first anniversary of Evan Gershkovich's arrest. He is the Wall Street Journal journalist detained in Moscow for alleged' espionage.' To raise awareness of his case, WSJ published an extensive piece on the correspondent's current affairs and a blank front page with the following caption: "His story should be here."
The 32-year-old reporter learned Russian from his parents and built a track record based on his knowledge, information and analysis of the region. Before joining WSJ in 2022, he worked from Moscow for the Agence France Press and the Moscow Times.
WSJ published a piece on their reporter, titled 'Evan Gershkovich's Stolen Year in a Russian Jail,' in which they explain the ordeal that both the journalist and his family and friends have endured since his arrest.
Young people will never know just how powerful print media can be. Today’s @WSJ cover: #EvanGershkovich pic.twitter.com/VVl3Kw8aSn
— Jen Hartmann (@jenalyson) March 29, 2024
The case of Evan Gershkovich
Gershkovich was on a normal working day when the Russian Federal Security Service unexpectedly detained him in Yekaterinburg. Although he had proper press credentials issued by the local Foreign Ministry, the authorities charged him with espionage, making him the first American to be detained on such a charge since the Cold War.
Although Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal and the Biden administration deny the accusations, the journalist was transferred to Lefortovo prison, where he remains 100 percent isolated from the world. He spends 90% of his day locked up in a small cell, where he tries to follow the results of his soccer team, Arsenal.
Days ago, on March 26th, a Russian court again extended his pre-trial detention, and it is unclear when he will be officially tried.
The White House statement: "Journalism is not a crime"
The Biden administration released a statement on the anniversary of the journalist's detention, in which it promised to continue to fight for his return home.
"Today we mark a painful anniversary: one year of American journalist Evan Gershkovich's wrongful detention in Russia. 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. Shortly after his wholly unjust and illegal detention, he drafted a letter to his family from prison, writing: 'I am not losing hope,'" the White House statement reads.
"As I have told Evan's parents, I will never give up hope either. We will continue working every day to secure his 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," the text concluded.
Finally, he also mentioned the situation of Paul Whelan and all U.S. citizens who continue to be unjustly detained abroad.
