US Congress calls for immediate release of reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia

On July 6, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will mark 100 days in detention in Russia.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has spent almost 100 days in detention in Russia.

On July 6, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will mark 100 days in detention in Russia.

Gershkovich, an American citizen, was detained on March 29 while on assignment in the Russia city of Yekaterinburg; he has since been held at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison on an allegation of espionage that he, his family, his employer and the US government vehemently deny.

The 31-year-old’s detention has already been extended once, with his trial pushed back until late August at the request of Russian investigators.

But calls for justice, and the release of Gershkovich, are getting louder across the globe.

Last week, the US House of Representatives voted 422-0 to approve a bipartisan resolution calling on Russia to free him.

The resolution also demanded that for as long as Gershkovich remains imprisoned, he must have unfettered access to US consular officials.

“We applaud this latest show of bipartisan support from Congress in the fight for Evan’s release,” Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker and Almar Latour, chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of the Journal, said after the vote.

“His wrongful detention is a blow to press freedom, and it should matter to anyone who values free society. We will not rest until he is free.”

To date, Russian authorities haven’t publicly provided evidence to support the allegation, but have argued that Gershkovich’s detention is in accordance with its own laws.

More than 30 US senators from across the political divide also wrote to Gershkovich last week, expressing their “profound anger and concern” over his detention.

“We applaud you for your efforts to report the truth about Russia’s reprehensible invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that has resulted in untellable atrocities, tragedies, and loss of life,” the letter says.

Gershkovich’s friends recently created a website, freegershkovich.com, to increase awareness of the reporter’s plight.

“Evan is a dedicated, accredited reporter who returned to Russia to cover the aftermath of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, a moment of which he was one of our finest chroniclers,” the website reads. “Journalism is not a crime. The Russian government must release Evan immediately.

“This is the first step in what may be a long road. This website was created by a group of Evan’s friends living in the US and abroad. We are doing everything we can to bring him home.”

News Corp Australia is also backing the global campaign to free Gershkovich. Last week, the company’s executive chairman Michael Miller told staff: “The accusations against him are demonstrably false.

“The United States State Department has declared him wrongfully detained, and his family, his government and his colleagues continue to demand his immediate release.

“What has happened to Evan is a reminder of the dangers journalists face every day around the world.

“According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a record 363 journalists were behind bars as of December 1 – a 20 per cent increase over 2021.

“What happened to Evan – and the other jailed journalists – is also an attack on journalism and the free press.”

Mr Miller also spoke of the incarceration of Australian journalist Cheng Lei.

“She has been detained in China since August 2020. Canberra has repeatedly raised concerns about her detention and called for ‘basic standards of justice’ to be met,” he said.

Mr Miller said it was important for Australian media companies to continue to advocate for press freedom.

“We continue to advocate for changes to Australian law. In Australia journalists can still be jailed, just for doing their job, and we’ll continue to fight for contestable warrants in line with the Australian public’s right to know.”