The White House has stated that efforts are being made to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal who was detained in Russia. John Kirby, representative of the US National Security Council, has confirmed that authorities are closely watching Gershkovich’s situation, with President Joe Biden also expressing attention toward the matter. The US government has pledged to “do everything in our power” to bring Gershkovich back alongside Paul Whelan, a former US Marine currently serving a prison sentence in Russia on espionage charges. The United States Embassy in Moscow has yet to attain consular access to Gershkovich while the Russian Foreign Ministry maintains access has already been granted. Gershkovich was arrested on March 29th and charged with espionage, accused of collecting state secrets on behalf of the United States. The Wall Street Journal has rejected the espionage allegations against their employee. On April 3, Gershkovich’s defense filed an appeal against his arrest, but a date for its consideration has not been established.
The White House said on Monday that the US authorities “are making every effort” to release Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Moscow bureau of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), “from the moment it became known that he was detained.” This was reported by Archyde.com with reference to the representative of the US National Security Council John Kirby. According to him, the US authorities are “closely watching” the fate of the 31-year-old journalist. “This issue has attracted everyone’s attention, including the attention of President (USA Joe Biden.— “uh”),” he noted.
“We will do everything in our power to bring Evan and Paul Whelan home,” John Kirby assured, referring to a former US Marine serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia on espionage charges. “We understand that this will be difficult, it doesn’t mean we’re going to shy away from it.”
At the same time, a White House spokesman said that the employees of the US Embassy in Moscow still do not have consular access to Evan Gershkovich. “They are very, very diligent in trying to get consular access to Evan, and yet we still have not been able to achieve this,” he said. Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that consular access to the detainee had already been provided.
Recall that the WSJ journalist was detained on March 29 in Yekaterinburg. The FSB Investigation Department initiated a criminal case against Evan Gershkovich under Art. 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Espionage”), which provides for a period of 10 to 20 years. According to the intelligence service, the journalist “on the instructions of the United States was collecting information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, which constitute a state secret.” The journalist was transported to Moscow, where on March 30 the Lefortovsky District Court chose a measure of restraint for him in the form of detention until May 29, 2023. The WSJ called the accusations of their employee of espionage unfounded.
On the same day, March 30, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Americans living in or visiting Russia to “leave the country immediately.” On April 2, at the initiative of the American side, Anthony Blinken had a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The main topic of the conversation was the fate of Evan Gershkovich. The State Department said Anthony Blinken “expressed grave concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist.” He called on the Russian authorities to immediately release Evan Gershkovich and “illegally detained US citizen Paul Whelan.” The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, stated that “it is inadmissible for officials in Washington and the Western media to whip up a stir with the clear intention of giving this case a political coloring.” “Sergey Lavrov specifically noted that Evan Gershkovich was caught red-handed while trying to obtain secret information, collecting data constituting state secrets under the guise of journalistic status,” the ministry added.
On April 3, Evan Gershkovich’s defense filed an appeal against his arrest. The date of its consideration in the Moscow City Court has not yet been set.
The fate of Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, continues to be closely watched by the US authorities. The White House has reiterated its commitment to doing everything in their power to secure his release, along with that of Paul Whelan, another US citizen detained in Russia on espionage charges. Despite assurances that efforts are being made to secure consular access to Gershkovich, the US embassy in Moscow has yet to be granted this privilege. With Gershkovich’s defense filing an appeal against his arrest, the case remains ongoing with no clear resolution in sight.