It was one year ago on Friday that The Wall Street Journal‘s Evan Gershkovich was detained in Russia on espionage charges that the U.S. government has called “fiction.”
On Thursday, Gershkovich’s detention was extended by another three months, according to the Journal, as he awaits trial.
The Journal said in a statement, “It’s a ruling that ensures Evan will sit in a Russian prison well past one year. It was also Evan’s 12th court appearance, baseless proceedings that falsely portray him as something other than what he is—a journalist who was doing his job. He should never have been detained. Journalism is not a crime, and we continue to demand his immediate release.”
Gershkovich was detained on March 29, 2023 by Russia’s security service. It was the first time that Russia has charged an overseas reporter with spying since the end of the Cold War. The Journal quickly denied the charges and the Biden administration declared that he was wrongfully detained.
To mark the anniversary, the Journal held a 24-hour Read-A-Thon, with reporters and colleagues doing a public reading of his reporting. Among those who participated were CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, Fox News’ Dana Perino and CNN’s Abby Phillip.
Fox Nation also is debuting a special today, Prisoner of Putin, featuring the network’s senior correspondent Steve Harrigan, who was formerly based in Moscow, as well as Gershkovich’s colleagues at the Journal, Gordon Fairclough and Paul Beckett, and close friends Jeremy Berke and Sam Silverman.
President Joe Biden said at the State of the Union address that the U.S. is working “around the clock” to bring Gershkovich home, along with another detained American, Paul Whelan.
