US ambassador to Russia meets with detained journalist after delays
Mike Brest
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Ambassador Lynne Tracy met with detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Monday in Russia, the first time an American official has been granted access to him.
Gershkovich was arrested in March on espionage allegations that he and the U.S. government deny. The United States has been unable, up until this time, to visit the detained reporter.
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“I visited [Wall Street Journal reporter] Evan Gershkovich today at Lefortovo Prison — the first time we’ve been permitted access to him since his wrongful detention more than two weeks ago. He is in good health and remains strong. We reiterate our call for his immediate release,” the ambassador said on social media.
The State Department determined last week that he meets the criteria to be considered wrongfully detained, which puts his case under the purview of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. The office, led by Roger Carstens, has additional resources to allocate to these cases.
The designation, Carstens said last week, “by force of law obligates the United States of America to seek a wrongfully detained American’s release. And that’s what we’re doing right now. My office is working closely with the National Security Council at the White House to find those paths that will bring Evan home.”
The arrest of Gershkovich, on charges supposedly unrelated to his reporting, is an example of an increasingly restricted press amid the war in Ukraine, which is nearing its 14-month mark.
On the same day Tracy visited with Gershkovich, Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of treason and other offenses relating to his criticism of the war. The U.S. and other Western countries immediately denounced his sentence.
“I’m in jail for my political views. For speaking out against the war in Ukraine. For many years of struggle against Putin’s dictatorship,” he said at a hearing last week, according to the Washington Post. “Not only do I not repent of any of this, I am proud of it.”
Another American, Paul Whelan, is also considered wrongfully detained in Russia, and he too was convicted of espionage, a charge that he and the Biden administration deny. In 2020, Whelan was given a sentence of 16 years in prison.
David Whelan, the brother of Paul Whelan, said in an email to reporters that Paul Whelan told their parents that “he feels as though the U.S. government has abandoned him.”
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“We understand completely how he feels,” David Whelan said. “We have heard that there is lobbying to encourage the White House and State Department to divert resources, currently applied to Paul’s case, away from it. We don’t have the ability to substantiate who or what — perhaps one of you are able to do that — but it gives with our concern that, for a fourth time, the U.S. government might consider making a decision that leaves Paul in Russia.”
The Biden administration maintains it is doing everything in its power to obtain Paul Whelan’s freedom, even though President Joe Biden agreed to two prisoner swaps last year to secure the release of Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner.