Top US newspapers call for Evan Gershkovich’s release in Russia

World
By William

The New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal have released a joint letter calling for the release of Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia since late March, highlighting that he is being held solely for doing his job as a reporter .

The letter, which appeared in three major newspapers Thursday and was signed by the publications’ top editors and executives, is the latest statement of support from fellow journalists for Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges while reporting for the Wall Street Journal.

“As editors and publishers of some of America’s largest news organizations, we are united in calling for his immediate release. Reporting is not a crime,” the letter said.

“Over the past month, we have seen our industry not only rally around Evan, but also stand up for journalism and the importance of a free press. We also encourage support from the US government, including the president [Joe] Biden and the White House.”

Earlier this month, the State Department formally labeled Gershkovich as “unjustly detained,” and the Biden administration had early dismissed the charges against him as “ridiculous.”

The Russian foreign ministry announced on Thursday that it rejected a U.S. request for a consular visit to Gershkovich in retaliation for Washington’s denial of visa applications for Russian journalists who planned to accompany Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a trip to the United Nations.

“In this regard, the U.S. Embassy was informed that its request for consular access to U.S. citizen Gershkovich, who was detained on May 11 on suspicion of espionage, has been denied,” the statement said. “Other possible retaliatory action, which will be duly notified to the US, is being considered.”

Washington previously accused Moscow of violating international law by denying US officials access to the Wall Street Journal journalist.

On April 17, U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy visited Gershkovich for the first time and said he was “in good health and remains strong”.

Last week, a Russian court rejected Gershkovich’s appeal for detention and denied him bail.

Proponents have said Gershkovich’s arrest is part of Russia’s wider crackdown on the media as it continues its invasion of Ukraine.

Evan’s case is the latest in a disturbing trend of journalists being harassed, arrested or worse for reporting the news.

“Evan is a leading journalist whose reporting has provided an important window into one of the world’s most isolated countries; his detention is a loss not only for our individual publications, but also for the people of Russia and society as a whole.”

Still, Russian officials claim Gershkovich was “caught red-handed and violated the laws of the Russian Federation”. They have provided no evidence to support the allegations.

Earlier this month, Biden described Gershkovich’s detention as “totally illegal” and called his family.

The reporter is now one of two US citizens being “unjustly detained” by Moscow, according to Washington. Paul Whelan, a US Navy veteran, was previously sentenced to 16 years in 2020 on espionage charges that Washington says are false.

Late last year, Russia released American basketball player Brittney Griner in a prisoner exchange that did not involve Whelan. Griner was detained on drug charges days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Washington has vowed to continue pushing for the release of both Whelan and Gershkovich from Russia.

On Thursday, the State Department announced sanctions against Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence (IRGC-IO) for involvement in the wrongful detention of US citizens.

“Russia’s and Iran’s continued pattern of falsely detaining U.S. citizens is unacceptable,” the State Department said in a statement. “The United States will never stop working to release U.S. citizens wrongly held or held hostage and reunite them with their loved ones.”

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