The leadership in the House and Senate released a statement on March 29 on the one-year anniversary of the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia.
“Evan Gershkovich, an American citizen and reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has now spent a year wrongfully detained by Putin’s government. We continue to condemn his baseless arrest, fabricated charges, and unjust imprisonment,” wrote Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
“Forty-five years ago, Evan’s parents, Ella and Mikhail Gershkovich, found refuge in the United States after fleeing the Soviet Union,” they continued. “Today, Putin is restoring Soviet-style control through repression at home and aggression abroad.
“On the anniversary of Evan Gershkovich’s captivity, we reaffirm the importance of his work. Journalism is not a crime, and reporters are not bargaining chips. The Kremlin’s attempts to silence Evan and intimidate other Western reporters will not impede the pursuit of truth.
“We repeat our call for the Russian government to release Evan, Paul Whelan, and others it has wrongfully detained without further delay.”
Paul Whelan, a Marine veteran, has been in Russia since 2018 and has been serving a 16-year sentence behind bars for allegedly spying.
To commemorate the one-year anniversary, The Wall Street Journal left a blank space on most of the front page in its March 29 edition with the headline, “History Should Be Here.” There is a story on the right side of the front-page with the headline, “What Evan Has Lost During His Year Detained,” and the headline of the online version reads “Evan Gershkovich’s Stolen Year in a Russian Jail.”
Mr. Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains, roughly 900 miles east of Moscow, while allegedly reporting on the Russia-backed Wagner mercenary group, which has been an actor in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
At the time, the FSB said it had “thwarted the illegal activities” of Mr. Gershkovich, who it said was “suspected of spying in the interests of the American government.”
Both Mr. Gershkovich and The Wall Street Journal have vehemently denied the allegations. He is being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison, a former KGB prison known for its harsh conditions. The United States considers Mr. Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained, an official designation that allows for more resources to be dedicated to securing his release.
During a March 26 hearing, Russia issued a three-month extension of his pretrial detention.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Russia and the United States could potentially reach an agreement regarding a prisoner swap involving Mr. Gershkovich.
Mr. Putin made the comments during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which was conducted at the Kremlin on Feb. 6 and published online two days later.
The roughly two-hour discussion between the Russian leader and the news anchor covered a wide range of topics, including Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, NATO expansion, the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline, and topics related to businessman Elon Musk, among others.
Mr. Carlson also pressed the Russian leader on a possible prisoner swap involving Mr. Gershkovich.
The host asked Mr. Putin if he would consider releasing Mr. Gershkovich “as a sign of decency.”
“We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of them,” Mr. Putin said. “We have never seen anyone reciprocate to us in a similar manner, however in theory, we can say that we do not rule out that we can do that if our partners take reciprocal steps.”
The Russian leader noted that the “partners” he was referring to are U.S. special services and said both they and Russian special services are currently in contact and discussing the case.
“There is no taboo to settle this issue, we are willing to solve it. But certain terms are being discussed” by both the U.S. and Russian partners, he said.
