American journalist in Russian prison for a year: ‘The Wall Street Journal’ sends a clear signal

American journalist in Russian prison for a year: ‘The Wall Street Journal’ sends a clear signal | Abroad

UPDATE.American journalist Evan Gershkovich of ‘The Wall Street Journal’ has been wrongly detained in Russian prison for a year today. At the beginning of this week, the court in Moscow extended his pre-trial detention until at least the end of June. He is in custody accused of spying for the United States. ‘The Wall Street Journal’ made a clear statement this morning by leaving a large part of their front page blank.

It is currently a big question mark when 32-year-old American reporter Evan Gershkovich will be released. A year ago the Russia correspondent of The Wall Street Journal arrested in Yekaterinburg during a restaurant visit. He was then in Russia on a reporting trip. The reporter is currently still in the infamous Lefortovo prison.

According to the FSB, the head of Russia’s security service, Gershkovich collected information about the activities “of one of the companies of the Russian military-industrial complex” on behalf of the US government. The US government denies everything. “Release him immediately. He was just doing his job,” said Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Moscow. A department of the US State Department has been looking into the case since April last year.

For a while, a breakthrough seemed close, but on Tuesday the court in Moscow extended the American reporter’s detention until at least the end of June. “Evan is very resilient and remains determined,” said Ivanova, a friend of Evan. Gershkovich continues to receive hundreds of letters every week and receives a lot of support.

If he were ultimately convicted of espionage, Gershkovich could face 20 years in prison.

Blank front page

This morning was the front page of ‘The Wall Street Journal’ blank. With this, the newspaper refers to the void that Evan Gershkovich leaves behind. “His Story Should Be Here”, it sounded. The newspaper also reports that they will not rest until Evan Gershkovich is acquitted.

This content contains cookies from social media or other external platforms. Because you have disabled these cookies, this content remains hidden. Accept cookies from social media to still display the content.