The President of the United States, Joe Biden, assured this Friday, March 29, that his Government will impose “costs” for Russia's “appalling attempts” to use American citizens as “bargaining currency.” The president thus referred to the arrest of The Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, just as he completed his first year under arrest by Moscow, which accuses him of alleged espionage.
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Imprisoned for a year and still awaiting trial. This is how the journalist from the American newspaper 'The Wall Street Journal', Evan Gershkovich, remains after being detained in Russia, accused of alleged espionage.
We will continue to impose costs for Russia's terrible attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips
This Friday, March 29, on the first anniversary of his arrest, the president of the United States, Joe Biden issued a statement, in which he warned that he will impose costs on Vladimir Putin's Administration for using the arrests of American citizens to pressure Washington. Furthermore, the president stressed that his government is working intensely to achieve Gershkovich's release.
“We will continue to work every day to secure their release (…) We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia's terrible attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips. And we will continue to stand firm against all those who seek to attack the press or attack “Journalists, the pillars of a free society.”
President Biden pledged to “continue working every day” to secure the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russian detention, as the American journalist's time imprisoned in Russia hit the one-year mark.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 29, 2024
Likewise, Biden refuted the accusations of espionage with which Moscow has justified the arrest of the reporter.
“Journalism is not a crime and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporterrisking their safety to shed light on the truth about Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine,” the White House leader highlighted in a statement.
The trip for a report that ended with Gershkovich's arrest
The American journalist was arrested during a trip to the city of Yekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains, where, Gershkovich claims, he was on his way to carry out reporting work.
However, the Federal Security Service (FSB) alleges that the reporter was acting under US orders to allegedly collect state secrets. Indications that 'The Wall Street Journal', for which he worked, and the US Government also reject.
Russian authorities have not provided any evidence to support their accusation and the man, now 32, remains detained without a trial.
Washington insists that this is an unjust detention.
A recent court hearing offered little new information about the development of his case. It was only known that he was ordered to remain behind bars pending a judicial process, at least until June 30. This is the fifth extension since his arrest.
Another American citizen accused of espionage who remains detained by Moscow is Paul Whelan, a corporate executive from Michigan. He was arrested in 2018 in Russia and sentenced two years later to 16 years in prison. Whelan, who stressed that he traveled to Moscow to attend a friend's wedding, insists on his innocence and maintains that the charges against him were invented by the authorities of that country.
With Reuters and AP
