"Journalism is not a crime": US issues strong rebuke as Evan Gershkovich marks one year in Russian detention

Moscow [Russia], March 29 : Strong condemnation was issued from the United States on Friday, as American journalist Evan Gershkovich completed one year in Russian detention on alleged espionage charges, while Washington continues with its efforts to secure his release.
"This has been a really difficult year for our family," CNN quoted Gershkovich's sister, Danielle Gershkovich as saying at an event last week. "It's just a lot of uncertainty and we just have to take it day by day."
The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on March 29, 2023, and shortly thereafter was charged with espionage - an accusation thoroughly denied by Gershkovich, the US government and his employer.
Notably, Gershkovich is the first journalist to be arrested on such charges since the Cold War. US claims that the Russian government has yet to provide any evidence to support its claim.
As the WSJ jounalist marked one year in Russian, US President Joe Biden on Friday strongly condemned the "wrongful detention" adding that "journalism is not a crime."
"Today we mark a painful anniversary: one year of American journalist Evan Gershkovich's wrongful detention in Russia. Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter --risking his safety to shine the light of truth on Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine," Biden said in a statement.
Stating that the US will never give up hope and continue working for his release, the President added, "To Evan, to Paul Whelan, and to all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad: We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring you home."
Less than two weeks after his arrest, the US State Department designated Gershkovich as "wrongfully detained" and called for his 'immediate' release.
In the year since, the 32-year-old journalist has been imprisoned in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo Prison. His pre-trial detention was again extended on Tuesday until June 30, even though his trial is yet to start.
"This verdict to further prolong Evan's detention feels particularly painful, as this week marks one year since Evan was arrested and wrongfully detained," US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said Tuesday.
"Evan's case is not about evidence, due process, or rule of law. It is about using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends," she said. "Evan has displayed remarkable resilience and strength in the face of this grim situation. But it is time for the Russian government to let Evan go."
Notably, in the past several years, Russia has detained a number of other Americans, as reported by CNN.
Ex-Marine Paul Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018 and is also designated as 'wrongfully detained'. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was detained in June 2023, Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina was arrested last January, and American teacher Marc Fogel was arrested in August 2021.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also condemned the detention, while stating that Moscow has not been able to provide any evidence till that.
"Today marks one year since Russia wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. To date, Russia has provided no evidence of wrongdoing for a simple reason: Evan did nothing wrong. Journalism is not a crime.," Blinken said in a statement.
Also speaking about Paul Whelan, Blinken added, "People are not bargaining chips. Russia should end its practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals for political leverage and should immediately release Evan and Paul."
Prior to his arrest, Gershkovich had lived and worked in Russia for years, as reported by CNN. In an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this week, Danielle Gershkovich wrote that reporting was her brother's 'dream job' and "he was accredited by the Russian foreign ministry to do it."
"I think of him now, sitting in Lefortovo prison in Moscow, unable to do what he loves. My heart aches for him, an eternally curious, adventurous, and driven person now cut off from the world, from friends and family, missing precious time," she wrote.
Throughout his ordeal, Gershkovich has been able to maintain his strength and a sense of humour, she wrote.
"But even a resilient person like him can't maintain this state indefinitely. The urgency to get him back increases every day. We will continue to fight every single day to get him home as soon as possible," Danielle Gershkovich wrote. "His family needs him home, his friends need him home, and the world needs him back doing the work he so loves."