Journalism is not a crime: Joe Biden supports Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist imprisoned in Russia for a year

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US President Joe Biden said he was working “every day” to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter he said was being held by Russia as a “trader,” as a year behind bars.

Mr. Gershkovich, 32, became the first American journalist arrested on espionage charges in the Russia since the Cold War when he was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) last March during a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg.

Despite being a fully accredited journalist, he has been accused of spying for the Russian authorities in the US, which he, the Wall Street Journal and the US government vehemently deny.

His plight has sparked global uproar, concerns about the collapse of press freedoms in Russia and was even raised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on Thursday, who asked the world to pray for him over the Easter weekend.

“Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter — risking his safety to bring to light the truth about Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement, vowing to work for freedom. of Evan and other US citizens imprisoned in Russia.

He added: “We will continue to work every day to secure his release.

“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips.”

No one knows exactly how many American citizens are being held in Russia. Another American charged with espionage is Paul Whelan, a corporate executive from Michigan who was arrested in 2018. He was sentenced two years later to 16 years in prison, charges he also denies.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Russia’s actions, saying that over the past year its already restrictive media landscape has become more oppressive and that it targets “any form of dissent”. He called for the immediate release of both men.

“So far, Russia has not provided any evidence of wrongdoing for one simple reason: Evan did nothing wrong. Journalism is not a crime. People don’t exchange money,’ he added.

A year after his arrest on a reporting trip, Mr. Gershkovich has not been tried, and the authorities have not released details of the charges or evidence to support the charges, his friends, family and colleagues say.

Instead, he is being held on remand in a small cell in Lefortovo prison in eastern Moscow, which was extended for another three months on Tuesday. He has already made about a dozen court appearances, where his incarceration has been extended indefinitely.

Holding a huge banner reading “Free Evan” outside the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital, Berlin, close friends of the journalist said they believed he was being held as a “pawn” by Russia.

“It is unimaginable. Lefortovo prison is designed to break people and separate them from the outside world. He spends 23 hours in his cell. It’s amazing that he’s still going strong,” said Francesca Ebel, a close friend and Russia correspondent for the Washington Post, who told The Independent she communicated with Mr. Gershkovich through letters written from his prison cell.

“Part of his arrest was intended to crush what was left of journalism in Russia. It had a very refreshing effect.” she added.

Pjotr ​​Sauer, another close friend and Russian affairs correspondent for The Guardian, said Gershkovich was keeping busy answering at least 5,000 letters from well-wishers around the world. He said Evan also plays chess with his dad and friends by mail.

“The world should not forget Evan, he was doing a public service, reporting on what was happening in Russia, shedding light on a country that is so difficult to understand,” he told The Independent at the meeting.

“It’s not just about our friend, it’s about press freedoms.”

His plight has drawn world attention and shined a bright light on the lack of freedom of expression in Russia, where President Putin has tightened his iron grip on the country, including securing a landslide victory a few weeks ago in a smooth election serious. competition.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journalist left a huge blank space on its front page with a top-page picture of Mr. Gershkovich in the paper’s pencil drawing and a headline that read: His story should be here.

Mr Gershkovich’s family wrote a letter in the same issue saying it “felt like it was holding our breath”.

Russia ranks among the top 20 countries in the world for press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which publishes a global report every year. The global watchdog for press freedoms said that since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, almost all independent media have been banned or blocked, with all others subject to military censorship.

Several Western media outlets, such as the BBC, are no longer accessible in the country – and many Russian and foreign correspondents have been forced to flee.

RSF said six Russian journalists were detained this month alone, including a reporter who covered the trials of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny before he died under suspicious circumstances in an Arctic penal colony in February.

Rebecca Vincent, director of campaigns at RSF, said Gershkovich’s arrest and continued detention was “tantamount to state hostage-taking”.

“His unjust detention for an entire year in Russia is a stark reminder of the appalling state of press freedom in the country, which has deteriorated sharply since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” she told the Independent.

Gulnoza Said, program coordinator for Europe and Central Asia at the Committee to Protect Journalists, told The Independent that it was clear Russia was “determined to keep him behind bars for as long as possible. “

“After February 2022, thousands of journalists fled, there is an unprecedented number of journalists in Russian prisons.” “Until Evan’s detention, foreign correspondents were at risk but believed they could be expelled or banned from entering Russia. A red line was crossed with Evan’s case.”