A year after his arrest, journalist Gershkovich remains in Russian prison

2024-03-27 15:35:38, Kosova & Bota CNA

A year after his arrest, journalist Gershkovich remains in Russian prison

American journalist, Evan Gershkovich

Friday marks one year since the American journalist, who works for the newspaper "The Wall Street Journal", was arrested in Russia on charges of espionage. Mr. Gershkovich is one of two American journalists held prisoner by Moscow. While Mr. Gershkovich was recently remanded in custody, as VOA Correspondent Cristina Caicedo Smit reports, family and colleagues continue efforts for his release.

In a courtroom in Moscow, the American journalist Evan Gershkovich is informed that he will remain in prison for another three months.

But the US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, says it is time for Moscow to release Mr Gershkovich.

"The Russian government has yet to present any evidence to substantiate its allegations. It has no justification for detaining the journalist and no explanation as to why the fact that he was doing his job as a journalist constituted a crime," says Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia.

Since his arrest in a town about 1,600 km east of Moscow, on March 29 of last year, his family and colleagues have been demanding the release of The Wall Street Journal journalist.

In the past year, they have given many interviews, held press conferences and held a number of private meetings, including one with President Joe Biden.

Holding back tears, Danielle Gershkovich describes the toll on her family and the letters she writes to keep her brother company.

"Through letters we want to support each other and make each other laugh. I am in awe of him," says Danielle Gershkovich, the sister of the American journalist imprisoned in Russia.

Russia accuses Mr Gershkovic of espionage, charges he and his newspaper deny. Moscow courts have repeatedly denied him bail. The US has declared him an unjustly imprisoned person.

The lawyer of the company where he works says that the legal process is completely unclear. They should wait for Russia to say when the case can go to trial.

"At some point, they have to say, 'the investigation is over and we can do the trial. We don't know when that will happen," says Jason Conti, a lawyer who covers legal issues for The Wall Street Journal.

For the family, the wait is difficult.

"We follow the news every day. It is heavy for us emotionally. It is better to remain focused on this goal of his release,” says Ms. Gershkovich.

If found guilty, the American journalist could be sentenced to 20 years in prison. But he is not the only American journalist arrested in Russia.

Alsu Kurmasheva, editor of the sister network of "Voice of America", "Radio Free Europe", has spent more than five months in prison.

The American-Russian journalist faces numerous charges, including failure to register as a foreign agent. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison.

In Mr Gershkovich's case, the media company he works for says lawyers inside Russia are keeping him informed as much as they can.

"They are brave lawyers. There is a limit to what they can say. They're not allowed to talk about it because it's about espionage charges, which we deny, but that's the nature of the charges," says lawyer Jason Conti.

When American journalist Tucker Carlson interviewed President Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader hinted that Moscow would be willing to release Mr. Gershkovich in exchange for a convicted murderer being held in Germany.

Since then, there has been no new information on diplomatic negotiations on the matter.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gershkovich's family, friends and colleagues continue to hope for his immediate release, noting that when authorities in Russia, or anywhere else, detain a journalist, it has a chilling effect. Some of the consequences, according to them, are the departure of foreign media, the self-censorship of local journalists and the audience remaining in the dark./ VOA