President Biden said Friday he will “never stop working” to bring home Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in Russia one year ago.
Mr. Gershkovich, an American, was arrested on March 29, 2023, on charges of espionage that his employer and U.S. officials consider bogus. Mr. Biden called Friday a “painful anniversary.”
“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,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Gershkovich was among the foreign reporters who remained in Russia and detailed the effects of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
After his arrest, the Russian Federal Security Service claimed Mr. Gershkovich collected information about a “Russian defense enterprise” during a trip to Yekaterinburg.
Mr. Gershkovich wrote to his parents in the U.S. and said he had not given up hope.
“As I have told Evan’s parents, I will never give up hope either,” Mr. Biden said. “We will continue working every day to secure his release.”
Mr. Biden has used prisoner swaps to free other Americans detained in Russia, including basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for a noted arms dealer. Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan remains detained in Russia, placing pressure on U.S. officials to include him in a future swap.
“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips,” Mr. Biden said. “And we will continue to stand strong against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists — the pillars of free society.”
The four major leaders in Congress echoed Mr. Biden’s call for Mr. Gershkovich’s release, saying that “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,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The Journal, meanwhile, paid homage to its employee with a large blank space on its front page Friday under a headline that said, “His Story Should Be Here.”