Gershkovich, 32, became the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29 last year.
“As I have told Evan’s parents, I will never give up hope either. We will continue working every day to secure his release,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House that called the journalist’s detention “wholly unjust and illegal.”
“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips,” Biden added.
Kremlin’s stance on Gershkovich
The Kremlin said on Thursday complete silence was needed when it came to discussions about possible prisoner exchanges involving Evan Gershkovich.
Asked about when a court would hear Gershkovich’s case or whether there would be a prisoner exchange, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “We do not have information about the court - it is not our prerogative.”
“As for exchange matters, we have repeatedly stressed that there are certain contacts, but they must be carried out in absolute silence,” Peskov said, adding that public remarks were a hindrance.
The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Gershkovich had been trying to obtain military secrets.
The reporter, the Journal, and the U.S. government all deny he is a spy. The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Gershkovich had been trying to obtain military secrets.
He has now spent a year at Moscow’s high-security Lefortovo prison, which is closely associated with the FSB, and his detention has been extended to June 30.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gershkovich’s arrest had made Russia’s already restrictive media landscape “more oppressive.”
Some commentators have pointed to the case of Australian journalist Julian Assange, whom U.S. authorities say endangered lives by publishing classified documents, as contradicting the U.S.’s stance on Gershkovich.
Assange’s website Wikileaks published confidential U.S. documents in 2010 and 2011, exposing a broad range of alleged serious crimes committed by the United States.
Assange has been held in a British prison since 2019 despite attempts to extradite him to the U.S. In 2022 judges ruled there were insufficient guarantees Assange would not face the death penalty in the U.S. and consequently, the case for extradition was considered unlawful.
