Wall Street Journal brilliant reporter Evan Gershkovich has been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia since March 29, 2023 for a crime, his employer, The Wall Street Journal and the United States vehemently deny.
Gershkovich 32, has been detained in Russia on false allegations of espionage since March 2023. He is the first American journalist to be detained on spy charges since the Cold War. Gershkovich was in Russia on an reporting assignment.
His first hearing is set for June 26 and will be held in secret. If convicted, Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison. However, due to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s well-known and calculated prisoner swap history, that is highly unlikely.
The award-winning journalist was born in the US to Russian parents and learned to speak Russian while growing up in Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated from Princeton High School, than went on to Bowdoin College where he wrote for the college newspaper.
Gershkovich joined the Wall Street Journal in 2022. Prior to that, the gifted journalist worked for The New York Times, The Moscow Times and Agence France-Presse.
It’s no secret that Russia often takes Americans as hostages and in return, demands the release of convicted Russian prisoners being held in the US and elsewhere. The authoritarian regime lead by dictator and president Vladimir Putin, is known for calculating a “prisoner swap” set up very cleverly before releasing any detained US hostages.
Such was the case of US women’s basketball play, Brittney Griner. The star athlete was arrested in Russia in February 2022 when she was at the airport and caught with vape cartridges containing the oil residue from cannabis. Griner was detained for ten months before a prisoner swap was agreed upon between the United States and Russia. In exchange for Greiner, the US released the notorious Viktor Bout, the so called “Merchant of Death” and a convicted arms dealer who was serving a 25 year sentence in the US.
US ex-marine Paul Wheelan, also another US hostage, has been arrested in Russia in 2018 and is currently in a remote prison camp in Mordovia according to reports. Arrested on similar charges to Gershkovich, Wheelan has been sentenced for 16 years. Wheelan’s family back home in the US has stated there have been ongoing discussions between them and the Biden Administration to get Paul released, but so far, nothing has materialized.
There has been tremendous support nation wide in getting Gershkovich released as well as raising awareness on his detainment not just from The Wall Street Journal, but also from media outlets, friends and social media outlets and a special hashtag #IStandWithEvan has been circulating all over social media channels.
Journalism is a not a crime and brilliant reporter Evan Gershkovich needs to come home.
The journey continues…
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