By Luis De Jesus
The United States accused Russia of using its citizens as “bargaining currency” amid the anniversary of the arrest of American journalist Evan Gershkovich in the Eurasian country.
Gershkovich, 33 years old and belonging to The Wall Street Journal, He was arrested at the end of March 2023 in Yekaterinburg, capital of the Urals, and has since been formally accused of espionage by the Federal Security Service.
“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s egregious attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
The FSB claimed that Gershkovich was collecting secret information about a company in the Russian military-industrial complex at the request of US entities.
According to statements by the American president, journalism is not a crime.
He also highlighted that the hostage had traveled to Russia to carry out his journalistic work and thus expose the truth about Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the Efe news agency published.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reinforced these statements by stating that to date Russia has not provided evidence of the accusations against Evan Gershkovich and recalled the case of another American citizen, Paul Whelan, convicted of espionage in 2020.
The United States government reiterated its commitment to working for the release of both citizens and demanded that Russia cease its practice of arbitrary detentions for political reasons.
The Wall Street Journal published in white
The newspaper The Wall Street Journal This Friday it dedicated a part of its cover of the white printed edition in honor of its correspondent in Russia. under the headline Your story should be here, The empty space highlights the journalist’s absence, accompanied by an article detailing what Evan Gershkovich has lost on a personal and professional level during his year of incarceration.
Gershkovich is the son of Russian immigrants.
The digital edition of the newspaper publishes a photo of the journalist with the same article, titled Evan Gershkovich, a stolen year in a Russian prison, which includes biographical details.
He Wall Street Journal He also addressed in other articles the danger that journalists face in their work. “Evan Gershkovich was supposed to be with his friends in Berlin the first week of April 2023,” begins one of the reports, which highlighted the plans that the young reporter had before his arrest. “It was the beginning of his stolen year,” the text adds.
The article details how the young man has lost a year of his life, where he should have been traveling through Europe and the United States, sharing moments with friends and family, as well as covering journalistic events in Russia. He further points out that he has missed a year of important events and changes in the Russian journalistic landscape.
On March 26, a closed-door hearing was held, after which the Russian Justice decided to extend the journalist’s arrest for three more months, until June 30. This means more uncertainty regarding his future and his situation of deprivation of liberty.
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