Biden reaffirms he’s working to release Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia for a year

NEW YORK —  On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, President Biden said the U.S. 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,” Biden said in a statement Friday.

Biden told reporters later Friday that he holds Gershkovich in high regard.

“I admire the hell out of him,” Biden said before leaving Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for the Camp David presidential retreat. “We’re not giving up.”

Gershkovich was arrested on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. The Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, alleges he was acting on U.S. orders to collect state secrets but has provided no evidence to support the accusation, which he, the Journal and U.S. officials deny. Washington has designated him as wrongfully detained.

On Friday, there was a blank space on the front page of the Journal. At the top was an image of Gershkovich, in the paper’s signature pencil style, and the headline “His story should be here.”

A recent court hearing in Russia offered little information on Gershkovich’s case. He was ordered to remain jailed pending trial until at least June 30 — the fifth extension of his detention.

But the periodic hearings at least give a glimpse of Gershkovich to his family, friends and U.S. officials. For the 32-year-old journalist, they are a break from the monotonous prison routine.

“We will continue working every day to secure his release,” Biden said in his statement. “We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips. And we will continue to stand strong against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists — the pillars of free society.”

Biden said the U.S. is working to free all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.

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 traveled to Moscow for a friend’s wedding, has maintained his innocence, saying the charges against him were fabricated.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement that both Gershkovich and Whelan have “remained resilient despite the circumstances of living in Russian detention.”

“People are not bargaining chips,” Blinken said. “Russia should end its practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals for political leverage and should immediately release Evan and Paul.”

Long writes for the Associated Press.