President Joe Biden spoke with the family of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich during his Tuesday flight to Belfast.
“[Biden] made it clear that his national security team has been and will remain focused on securing Evan’s release as well as that of Paul Whelan, both of whom are wrongfully detained in Russia,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
STATE DEPARTMENT RULES US REPORTER TO BE WRONGFULLY DETAINED IN RUSSIA
Gershkovich is being held in Russia on charges of espionage that both the United States and his employer have denied. His family voiced their gratitude for Biden’s call.
“We are encouraged that the State Department has officially designated Evan as wrongfully detained. We appreciate President Biden’s call to us today, assuring us that the U.S. government is doing everything in its power to bring him home as quickly as possible,” the family said in a statement.
Biden’s team attempted to call Gershkovich’s family on Monday but didn’t get through. The president told reporters prior to boarding Air Force One that he would attempt to call the family on his flight.
“I called them yesterday — we miscalled. And we’re trying from the plane,” Biden told reporters before departing on his four-day trip to Northern Ireland. “We’re making it real clear that it’s totally illegal what’s happening.”
Biden on Evan Gershkovich:
“It’s totally illegal what’s happening” pic.twitter.com/dg9ACE7mfd
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) April 11, 2023
Biden and his administration have forcefully condemned Gershkovich’s arrest. On Monday, the State Department designated him as “wrongfully detained” and ramped up efforts to bring him back home. Biden added that the designation “changes the dynamic.”
With that designation, the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs will now assume responsibility for Gershkovich’s case.
Gershkovich, 31, was arrested in late March in Yekaterinburg, Russia. He is facing a 20-year prison sentence and is being held at a detention center in Lefortovo prison until May 29. Gershkovich has appealed his imprisonment.
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So far, U.S. personnel have not been granted access to visit him. Gershkovich is the son of Soviet-born exiles who moved to the United States. He started at the Wall Street Journal in 2022.
Attorneys for Gershkovich said he is healthy and grateful for the support he has received, according to the Wall Street Journal.
