Biden says ‘working every day to free American journalists from Russia’

Evan Gershkovich becomes first American journalist arrested in Russia on espionage charges

Washington:

President Joe Biden on Friday said in a statement marking the one-year anniversary of the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia that the United States would take “shocking” measures against Russia for using Americans as bargaining chips. Attempt” to impose fees.

Gershkovic, 32, was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29 last year, becoming the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.

“As I told Evan’s parents, I will never give up hope. We will continue to work every day to secure his release,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. China said the journalist’s detention was “completely unfair and illegal.”

“We will continue to condemn Russia’s egregious attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips and make them pay,” Biden added.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that complete silence was required when discussing a possible prisoner exchange involving Gershkovic.

The reporter, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government all deny that he is a spy. Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Gershkovich had been trying to obtain military secrets.

He has been held for a year in Moscow’s high-security Lefortovo prison, which has close ties to the FSB, and his detention has been extended until June 30.

The top leaders of both parties in the U.S. Congress, including Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, also issued a joint statement on Friday, calling the arrest of the journalist unfounded and unjust.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gershkovic’s arrest made Russia’s already restrictive media environment “even more repressive.”

In their Friday statements, Biden and Blinken also condemned the detention of Paul Whelan, a former Marine who was arrested in Moscow in 2018 and charged in 2020 with espionage Sentenced to 16 years in prison. He and the U.S. government deny the accusations.

“Evan, Paul Whelan, and all Americans who are being held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad: we are with you. We will never stop working to bring you home,” Biden said.

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