Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been detained by Russian authorities for six months now.
Gershkovich was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in March while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg on espionage charges that both he, his employer, and the United States government have decried as fraudulent.
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The U.S. government determined in April that Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained, which is a legal designation determined by top State Department officials based on criteria set out in the Levinson Act. The determination puts his case under the purview of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and signifies the government's viewpoint that, in this case, Gershkovich is a political prisoner and not a legitimate detainee.
"It’s difficult to believe that it’s been six months since Evan was wrongfully imprisoned and almost a year since we were all together as a family," the Gershkovich family said in a statement on Friday. "It’s hard not to think about everything he is missing: close friends’ weddings, holidays with family, his 32nd birthday, and the job he loves. We miss him terribly and today is another reminder that every day is a day too long without his freedom."
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Gershkovich remains behind bars in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison.
“The U.S. position remains unwavering. The charges against Evan are baseless. The Russian government locked Evan up for simply doing his job. Journalism is not a crime,” U.S. ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said to reporters earlier this month.
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The Biden administration continues its efforts to secure Gershkovich's release, as well as that of Paul Whelan, an American businessman who is serving a 16-year prison sentence also on espionage charges that both he and the U.S. government have said are trumped up. The Biden administration agreed to two prisoner swaps with Russia last year, securing the releases of Brittney Griner and Trevor Reed, but U.S. government officials have said Russian authorities treat those accused of espionage differently than other detainees.
The U.S. gave up two convicted Russians in those deals, pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko for Reed and notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner.