McConnell, Schumer Condemn Detention of US Journalist in Russia

Reporter for U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich in Moscow in 2019. (The Moscow Times/Handout via Reuters)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have come together to condemn Russia’s detention of a U.S. journalist.

“We strongly condemn the wrongful detention of U.S. citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and demand the immediate release of this internationally known and respected independent journalist,” the two wrote in a joint statement released on April 7.

They join President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in calling for the release of Gershkovich.

“Mr. Gershkovich was accredited by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work as a journalist in Russia. Since his arrest, Russian authorities have failed to present any credible evidence to justify their fabricated charges,” the statement from Schumer and McConnell reads.

“Let there be no mistake: journalism is not a crime.”

Gershkovich was apprehended on March 29 by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in the eastern city of Yekaterinburg. The FSB is the successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

The FSB claims he was “acting at the behest of the American side” to gather “information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise within Russia’s military-industrial complex.”

His arrest marks the first detention of a U.S. journalist on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.

Russian media reported that Gershkovich has been formally charged with espionage on behalf of the United States on April 7. They report he has fully denied the accusations. If convicted, he could face a two-decade prison sentence.

According to Schumer and McConnell’s statement, Gershkovich still hasn’t had access to the U.S. consul. They characterized that situation as contrary to “standard diplomatic practice” and as “likely in violation of international law.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the journalist was “caught red-handed,” according to the Russian news agency Tass.

About Gershkovich

Gershkovich, 31, was born in the United States to Russian Jewish parents who escaped the Soviet Union in 1979.

He began working for the Wall Street Journal in January 2022, according to his profile on the outlet’s website.

That profile states he has also held affiliations with Agence France-Presse, The Moscow Times, and The New York Times.

Russian State Duma Deputy Sergey Obuhkov, a member of the Russian Communist Party, has suggested Gershkovich should be traded for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as reported by Russia’s RT news service.

The Department of State on April 2 said Blinken spoke with his Russian counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, demanding the release of Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive whom Russia jailed on espionage charges in 2018.

The United States and Whelan’s family both deny the allegations of spying.

Whelan wasn’t part of a 2022 prisoner swap that led to the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner, detained and convicted on drug charges, in exchange for Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer who inspired Nicolas Cage’s character in the 2005 movie “Lord of War.”

Tensions between the United States and Russia remain high against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.

“Americans should please heed the U.S. government’s warning not to travel to Russia. U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart right away as the State Department continues to advise,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on March 30.