Washington — President Biden vowed on Friday to "continue working tirelessly" to secure the release of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich from Russian custody, as Gershkovich marked one year in detention.
"We will persist in condemning and imposing consequences for Russia's reprehensible use of Americans as bargaining tools," stated President Biden in a release on Friday, which also highlighted the situation of Paul Whelan, another American citizen detained in Russia since 2018.
Gershkovich, labeled as "wrongfully detained" by the U.S. State Department shortly after his arrest, is still awaiting trial on espionage charges that the White House, his family, and his employer all assert are false, yet could potentially result in a lengthy prison sentence.
His apprehension in March 2023 on spying allegations — the first of its kind against a Western journalist since the Soviet era — demonstrated that the Kremlin was willing to escalate further in what President Vladimir Putin has termed a "hybrid war" against the West.
A certain publication and the U.S. government reject the claims of espionage as a fabricated excuse to detain Gershkovich, possibly intending to leverage him in a future prisoner exchange.
Putin expressed his desire last month to have Gershkovich released in a swap, but the Biden administration stated that Moscow turned down the latest exchange proposal.
The 32-year-old, currently held in custody until at least the end of June, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
In a letter published by a well-known newspaper, the Gershkovich family declared their determination to continue advocating for his release.
"We never imagined our son and brother would be in this situation, let alone spending a whole year with no clarity or direction," they expressed. "Despite this prolonged struggle, we remain resilient."
Gershkovich extensively covered how regular Russians were impacted by the Ukraine conflict, interviewing families of deceased soldiers and critics of Putin. Before his arrest, Gershkovich confided in friends that breaking news and getting people to speak up had become increasingly challenging.
Nevertheless, as long as it was not impossible, he found a purpose in being there.
"He was aware that for certain stories, he was being followed and the people he spoke to were being pressured not to communicate with him," shared Guardian correspondent Pjotr Sauer, a close friend, with AFP. "Despite being accredited by the foreign ministry, none of us could have imagined that the Russians would go to the extent of charging him with this fabricated espionage."
Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, has been imprisoned in Russia for a period of five years. Additionally, Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina was detained in January under accusations of treason for her alleged assistance to Ukraine. Furthermore, basketball star Brittney Griner, who had been held for nine months on drug-related charges, was ultimately released in a swap for a notorious arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death."
