House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) issued a rare joint statement on Thursday, calling for the release of two U.S. citizens who have been detained by Russian officials and held in custody.
The joint statement called for the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine who was arrested in 2018, as well as Evan Gershkovich, a journalist who was detained in March. The two congressional leaders denounced the arrests as illegal, calling on the Kremlin to release the pair immediately.
BLINKEN DETAILS US EFFORTS TO FREE PAUL WHELAN AND EVAN GERSHKOVICH
“Since arresting Evan five weeks ago, Russia has failed to provide any credible evidence to justify its manufactured charges,” the pair wrote. “Journalism is not a crime and his detention is another deeply concerning attack on freedom of the press across the globe.”
Gershkovich was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service in March on charges of espionage, marking the first time a U.S.-based journalist has been arrested by the Kremlin for suspected spying since the Cold War. Gershkovich was on assignment for the Wall Street Journal at the time of his arrest covering the war in Russia and Ukraine.
The White House and several lawmakers have condemned his arrest, and the Wall Street Journal has denied any wrongdoing.
“The persecution of Gershkovich is part of a disturbing practice by Putin’s Russia of kidnapping American citizens and using Soviet-style show trials to unjustly imprison them,” McCarthy and Jeffries wrote. “Today, the Kremlin not only holds Gershkovich hostage, it continues to unjustly imprison Paul Whelan. Russia must release Gershkovich and Whelan now.”
Whelan was arrested in December 2018 after arriving in Moscow to attend the wedding of a former Marine. However, Whelan was detained by the Federal Security Service on charges of spying. He was later sentenced to 16 years in prison on June 15, 2020.
U.S. officials have repeatedly called for his release, and President Joe Biden attempted to include him in a prisoner swap last year that saw the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. However, the Russian government threatened to drop the exchange altogether unless it only included Griner, leaving Whelan in the Kremlin’s custody.
The U.S. currently has a “standing proposal” to release Whelan, although those details have not yet been finalized.
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“We are actively, energetically trying to get [Gershkovich] released as well as Paul Whelan. That has never stopped,” National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told CNN Thursday morning. “There’s a proposal on the table for Paul. We will urge the Russians to accept that proposal so we can get him out of there.”
Initial conversations are underway for Gershkovich’s release, although Russian officials have said those discussions will only take place after a trial concludes, Kirby said.