Friday marks six months since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russia and accused of espionage, making him the first American journalist held by the Kremlin on such charges since the Cold War.
The Wall Street Journal launched a social media campaign to raise awareness of what the U.S. government has officially designated a wrongful detainment, to coincide with the difficult milestone. Journalists and supporters are encouraged to post images with the #IStandWithEvan hashtag, and pins and shirts with the message are expected to be plentiful.
The Guardian's Pjotr Sauer, one of many friends Gershkovich made in his journalism career, told FOX News Digital they've been in weekly contact by letter and his spirits remain strong despite his grueling ordeal.
"Evan is keeping strong, both physically and mentally. He's reading a lot, he's exercising, he's keeping his mind and body busy, but of course it's a very grim milestone," he said. "Six months is a long period, too long, obviously. Every day is too long as long as Evan is in jail."
Gershkovich was detained March 29 during a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, the fourth-largest city in Russia, and accused of being a spy. The U.S. has all along asserted that Russia's allegation is ridiculous on its face, as have his colleagues, who describe the 31-year-old American-born son of Soviet immigrants as a diligent reporter who is being used as a political pawn due to his high profile.
The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny the allegation and have called for his immediate release. His arrest is seen as a brazen violation of press freedom that not only poses widespread consequences for journalism and the media, but to governments and democracies everywhere, and part of a wider journalism crackdown by the autocratic Russian Federation.
"He is definitely not a spy, that is an outrage. He is a reporter, he was there doing his job," Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker has said.
Continued extensions of his pre-trial detention have only added to the frustration. Conviction in a closed court on charges of this nature is a near certainty in Russia's court system, experts have said.
"We live in limbo, but I think his friends and family are taking things day by day. Those letters give us strength," Sauer said.
In April, less than two weeks after he was detained, the U.S. officially designated him "wrongfully detained" by Russia. The designation allowed his case to be specially handled by the State Department's Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and signified that he is viewed officially as a political prisoner and not a legitimate detainee of Russia.
Gershkovich has been held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.
DETAINED WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH'S COLLEAGUES SPEAK OUT ON HIS PASSION FOR JOURNALISM, RUSSIA
Gershkovich’s alma maters showed support this week, as the Princeton High School boy’s soccer team that Gershkovich once captained to a championship scored a last-minute victory during a game played in his honor Tuesday. A WSJ reporter overheard a player brag, "We did it for Evan," after the victory.
The team warmed up #IStandWithEvan shirts, and people packed in the stands wearing "Free Evan" buttons.
"Evan never had a bad day. He persevered through everything. We won everything you can win in New Jersey soccer. My hope is that he still has that resolve," Wayne Sutcliffe, who was Gershkovich's high school soccer coach, said after the game.
Bowdoin College also honored Gershkovich with a panel discussion about his work as a journalist, his life as a student and the challenges facing independent journalism. The panel, "Journalism is Not a Crime," was coordinated by Gershkovich’s college classmates and friends, Linda Kinstler and Nora Biette-Timmons and featured WSJ Washington bureau chief Paul Beckett.
Kinstler said that the group has been sending Gershkovich books and letters on a regular basis.
"We’re just trying to do everything we can to make his life better in these horrible circumstances," Kinstler told the WSJ.
Sauer estimated his friend has received more than 3,000 letters since he was imprisoned.
Last week, Gershkovich had an appeal for his release denied by a Moscow court, according to reports. The court rejected Gershkovich's appeal of the three-month extension of his pre-trial detention following a closed hearing, Reuters reported, noting that the Russian court's press service did not give an explanation for the decision. Gershkovich will, therefore, remain in custody until at least Nov. 30.
Dow Jones Associate General Counsel Jake Goldstein was in Geneva last week to advocate on behalf of Gershkovich during the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The paper has encouraged supporters to share Gershkovich’s journalism and latest updates on his situation by visiting WSJ.com/Evan. Readers can access media assets and images such as #IStandWithEvan profile photos, banners and cover images to be used across social media. The WSJ also allows readers to write a message to Evan and his family.
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR EVAN GERSHKOVICH
Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour addressed how Gershkovich’s continued detention in Russia impacts the presence of American journalists on assignments abroad at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York City earlier this month.
"The cost of not being there is extremely high. For us, that means that even as we are confronted with a situation with Evan right now, we have a deep commitment to remaining present around the world," Latour said. "Obviously, that's been greatly complicated, but we can still, with that determination, extract major news even if the presence on the ground is not as big as before."
Latourm, along with Gershkovich’s parents and other Dow Jones representatives, also attended the Atlantic Council's Global Citizen Awards last week. During the event, Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe highlighted Gershkovich’s case. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen were also in attendance.
Gershkovich is the first American reporter to face espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.
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