The White House made a statement on the anniversary of Evan Hershkovich’s arrest

US President Joe Biden made a statement on the anniversary of the arrest of American journalist Evan Hershkovich in Russia. He called the prosecution of Hershkovich completely unfair and illegal and emphasized that the journalist was fulfilling his professional duty in Russia to shed light on Russian aggression in Ukraine. Biden assured that the United States will continue to fight for his release.

“We will make Russia pay the price for the outrageous use of American citizens as bargaining chips. And we will continue to resist with all our might those who try to attack the press and journalists – the pillars of a free society,” the document says.

The US Congress also called for Hershkovich’s release. He called the case against Hershkovich fabricated, the charges against him groundless. The congressmen reminded that 45 years ago Hershkovich’s parents came to the USA from the USSR. “Now Putin is reviving the Soviet style of government with repression at home and aggression in the outside world,” they wrote. The statement in support of Hershkovich was a rare occasion when it was signed by the leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

The Wall Street Journal newspaper, in which Hershkovich worked, appeared on Friday with an empty rectangle on the front page. Above it is placed a photograph of Hershkovich and the title: “Here could be his report”.

Evan Hershkovich has been in a Russian pre-trial detention center for exactly one hour on charges of espionage. His newspaper, the American authorities and the journalistic community claim that these accusations are false. According to some sources close to Russian and American political circles, Hershkovich can be held in exchange for one of the Russian citizens in US prisons. However, there is no official confirmation of this. Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, according to Reuters, said on March 28 that he had no information about when Hershkovich’s trial would take place. When asked about the prospects of his exchange, Peskov replied that if such negotiations are held, they “require complete silence.”

• Evan Hershkovich was detained on March 29, 2023 in Yekaterinburg. The next day, the FSB of Russia announced that the journalist had been arrested on charges of espionage. According to the intelligence service, the journalist, “acting at the behest of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
• Hershkovich and The Wall Street Journal deny the charges. The publication repeatedly demanded the immediate release of the journalist.
• On March 26, the court extended Hershkovich’s arrest until June 30.