THE WALL STREET Journal (WSJ) left most of its front page blank today to mark one year since a reporter with the paper’s Moscow bureau was imprisoned in Russia.
Evan Gershkovich (32) was arrested while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) alleges he was acting on US orders to collect state secrets but provided no evidence to support the accusation, which he, the WSJ and the US government deny.
Washington designated him as wrongfully detained.
Friday’s front page featured the headline ‘His Story Should Be Here’ above the blank space, accompanied by an image of Mr Gershkovich in the newspaper’s signature pencil drawing.
A recent court hearing offered little new information on Mr Gershkovich’s case. He was ordered to remain behind bars pending trial at least until June 30, the fifth extension of his detention.
But the periodic court hearings at least give Gershkovich’s family and friends and US officials a glimpse of him.
President Joe Biden said the US is working every day to secure his release.
“Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter — risking his safety to shine the light of truth on Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine,” he said in a statement.
Another American accused of espionage is Paul Whelan, a corporate executive from Michigan. He was arrested in 2018 in Russia and sentenced two years later to 16 years in prison.
Whelan, who said he travelled to Moscow to attend a friend’s wedding, has maintained his innocence and said the charges against him were fabricated.
Additional reporting by Nicky Ryan
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