In March 2023, Evan Gershkovich is an American journalist known for his work as a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, was detained in Russia on espionage charges, a move widely criticized by global media and human rights organizations. Gershkovich’s detention underscores the challenges faced by journalists in conflict zones and authoritarian regimes.
The Washington Examiner reports that the American that Joe Biden has ignored will be heading to a Russian prison for a long time.
The journalist, arrested in March 2023, was found guilty of spying in Russia. Both the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have denounced the trial against Gershkovich as a sham.
The brief trial began on June 26, with media access to the arguments limited. Most of the trial, along with closing statements, were held behind closed doors, with little evidence being presented publicly. Gershkovich is the first U.S. journalist to be charged with espionage charges in Russia since 1986, during the Cold War.
Wall Street Journal publisher Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker decried the conviction in a joint statement Friday, arguing that “journalism is not a crime” and vowing not to rest until he is released.
“This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist,” they said in the statement.
The Biden administration has mostly ignored Gershkovich’s plight. Along with Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine from Novi, Michigan, who was arrested in Russia in December 2018, the White House has done very little to free hostages being held by Russia.
In August of 2022, President Biden traded one of the most dangerous men in the world for WNBA star Brittney Griner after several celebrities and political donors asked him to do everything he could to free her from Russian jail after she was convicted on drug charges.
