Evan Gershkovich’s Sister Describes His Year Detained in Russia During National Press Club Event

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will reach a grim milestone on March 29. That date marks the one-year anniversary of his detention in Russia. 

Evan is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison on charges of espionage. Evan, his family, the Wall Street Journal, and the State Department all deny that Evan is a spy. 

Danielle Gershkovich, Evan’s sister, spoke to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. 

“I’m sure you can imagine this has been a really difficult year for his family. A lot of uncertainty and we just have to take it day by day,” Evan’s sister, Danielle Gershkovich, said on Thursday at a National Press Club event. 

“It’s incredible to see this community of journalists rally around Evan,” she added. “We’re just so appreciative… and, of course, the incredible team at the Wall Street Journals has been so amazing and supportive. We’re going to keep believing that we’ll bring Evan home soon.”

The event at the National Press Club was a briefing on the latest information as Evan approaches the one-year mark of his detention. Evan has been designated as wrongfully detained by the State Department. That designation is said to provide more tools in the toolbox to help work on Evan’s release. The Biden administration has called for his release. 

Putin is suppressing journalism in Russia and it is widely thought that Evan and other Americans are being detained on trumped up charges as bargaining chips for prisoner swaps. Wall Street Journal Washington bureau chief Paul Beckett, who participated in the National Press Club event, was deputized to solely concentrate on efforts to free Evan. 

Beckett wanted to use the event as a way to remind the public of Evan’s plight. He wanted to salute Evan and his family for what they are enduring. Evan was based at the Wall Street Journal’s Moscow bureau, reporting on Russia. His parents are immigrants from Russia and he speaks fluent Russian. 

“We knew he was a great reporter, that’s why we hired him. I don’t think anyone realized what an extraordinary young man he is, to have endured this ordeal with such extraordinary grace and that goes for his family as well, so it’s a moment for us to show our appreciation,” Beckett said. 

“You can see the chilling effect it’s had on reporting on Russia over the course of the last year. So many, very understandably, Americans reporting in Russia withdrew… we’ve essentially been deprived of a year of vital reporting,” he added.

Russia holds secret trials, especially for cases involving espionage charges. Evan will likely be found guilty and may face decades in prison. His best hope for release is in a prisoner swap. Experts believe a prisoner swap will not happen until his trial concludes and he is sentenced. So far, there is no trial date. 

Jason Conti, executive vice president and general counsel for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, also spoke in the panel discussion. He said the United States and a coalition of other governments should send a message to countries that imprison reporters to stop them from doing it.

“For a country that cares and believes in the free press we ought to put this front and center: If a reporter is taken and designated as wrongfully detained there needs to be a consequence right away,” Conti said at an event hosted by the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Conti said that sanctions aren’t perfect but they send a message. The Biden administration sanctioned Russia’s Federal Security Service a month after they arrested Evan on March 29, 2023. Senior administration officials said the sanctions were already in the works before Evan was arrested. The Biden administration doesn’t have a great record in bringing American citizens home from overseas detention. Putin and his associates have increased detaining American citizens and it is seen as a jab in Biden’s eye since he is seen as weak on the international stage. Putin wants to use the American citizens as leverage to get Russian prisoners released. 

“There needs to be a consequence right away from the U.S. government, and I hope that’s what we see going forward,” he said, “because it didn’t happen here and it ought to happen in the future.”

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visited Gershkovich Thursday at Lefortovo prison. 

Ambassador Tracy visited @WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich today at Lefortovo prison. Next week will mark 1 year since his wrongful detention by RU authorities. Evan remains strong and resilient, but it is a tragedy he awaits a trial for a crime he did not commit. #JournalismisNotaCrime https://t.co/ruy8P9igCB

— Посольство США в РФ/ U.S. Embassy Russia (@USEmbRu) March 21, 2024

Evan’s older sister, Danielle, told the panel and audience that she hopes her family will gather next week to mark Evan’s year in prison. She said he arranged for her, their mother, and some of his female friends to receive flowers on International Women’s Day earlier this month. “I’m just in awe of him,” she said.