I stand with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich – and here's why you should, too.
He was doing his job, reporting from the Russian provincial city of Yekaterinburg, nearly 900 miles east of Moscow, when he was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service and accused of espionage. It's the first case of an American journalist held on allegations of spying since the Cold War.
This week, the U.S. officially determined the reporter was wrongfully detained, allowing the State Department to negotiate for his release.
President Biden calls Russia's detention of journalist 'totally illegal'
President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Russia's actions "totally illegal.'' The Journal has “vehemently” denied all allegations against Gershkovich.
Russia may be willing to discuss a prisoner swap after a court delivers its verdict on espionage charges, a top Russian diplomat said Thursday.
“We have a working channel that was used in the past to achieve concrete agreements, and these agreements were fulfilled,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state-run Tass news agency.
We stand with Evan:Russia, release WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich. Don't arrest journalists for doing their jobs.
This raises the stakes, again, between Russia and the U.S., already tense over the war in Ukraine.
"It looks like a retaliation measure of Russia against the United States, so we are very alarmed because it is probably a way to intimidate all Western journalists that are trying to investigate aspects of the war on the ground in Russia," Jeanne Cavelier, head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk at the Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, told The Associated Press.
If convicted of espionage, Gershkovich, 31, could face up to 20 years in prison.
His detention means you'll get even less news out of Russia. The Journal pulled its last person out of Moscow the day after Gershkovich was picked up and very few Western media outlets remain.
"There's very, very few places that you can still get information about Russia that is trusted, independent and useful," said Journal Washington Bureau Chief Paul Beckett. "And this is a country that has been a part of American dynamic for decades, but especially in recent years.
"Russia should occupy a place in the American mind as this is a country that we need to know about because it is doing all kinds of things around the world that have an impact on us."
And Russia fills that void with propaganda. Russia's state-controlled media contain only news sanctioned by the government.
A week after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that makes sharing “fake news" a crime. Russia defines fake news as any information about the war that is different from what the Ministry of Defense – the definitive source – explains in news releases, wrote USA TODAY correspondent Anna Nemtsova.
“People get detained for posts on social media or even for bringing flowers to the victims of bombings in Ukraine," human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina told Nemtsova. "These political repressions remind us of the Soviet-era mass arrests."
What is the US doing to free Gershkovich?
Now that Gershkovich has been determined "wrongfully detained," the State Department can put more pressure on Moscow and demand regular consular access.
State Department diplomats have not been permitted to see him yet.
"I think Russia not following through on meeting its obligations to consular access – never mind the practice of detaining people arbitrarily for political purposes – is going to do even more damage to Russia’s standing around the world," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.
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He said it sends a strong message to beware of setting foot in Russia, on the chance you will be detained and won't be given access to diplomats there to help you, "and who, as a matter of solemn international obligations that Russia has undertaken, should be allowed that access.
"I’m not going to get into what measures, steps we’re taking or might take to do that. I can simply tell you that we are engaged every single day in pressing for that access as well as pressing for Evan’s release."
The U.S. has also called on Russia to release Paul Whelan, another American the government has declared wrongfully detained. Whelan, 52, has been in prison in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges his family and the U.S. government have denied.
How can you support Gershkovich?
Read the work that Russia is trying to silence. The Journal has made his stories on its website free. Recent reporting shows:
Keep the pressure up. The Journal has provided assets and instructions if you'd like to use your social media accounts to support Gershkovich. They are encouraging users to add the hashtag #IStandWithEvan.
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Write to Gershkovich and his family. The Journal has created a form to collect messages of support.
Most of all, we all need to pay attention – and understand the stakes – of this case.
Much of what we know about hot spots around the world comes from fearless journalists like Gershkovich.
"(Russia has) effectively criminalized journalism," Beckett said. "So you're looking at a country that America cares a lot about – and it's a black box of information."
Nicole Carroll is the editor-in-chief of USA TODAY. Reach Carroll at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/nicole_carroll. Subscribe to USA TODAY here.
