Staff Reports
The top dogs in Congress and the White House are raising their voices in a chorus of demands for the release of journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been stuck in a Russian jail for a year now. This Wall Street Journal reporter, not to mention a good ol’ American, got scooped up by the Russian authorities on espionage charges while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg on March 29, 2023. And let’s not forget that the U.S. government, press freedom groups, and his employer all think he’s been wrongfully nabbed and that this whole arrest is just a bunch of political hoo-ha.
Party leaders call for Evan Gershkovich release on one-year anniversary of detention https://t.co/ZjQZO846pN https://t.co/ZjQZO846pN
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 29, 2024
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old fella whose folks came to the land of the free from the Soviet Union, is causing quite a stir, shining a big ol’ spotlight on the shady practice of “hostage diplomacy.” That’s when those crafty Russians decide to throw Americans in the slammer on phony charges so they can try to finagle a swap or other goodies out of it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined hands to issue a joint statement, shining a light on the Putin regime’s efforts to bring back the good ol’ days of Soviet-style control and go around causing trouble abroad.
The Wall Street Journal even left a big blank space on their front page to drive home the point of how long poor Evan has been stuck behind bars. I tell ya, these big shots in Congress are all fired up about this whole press freedom thing, with all their talk about how “Journalism isn’t no crime, and reporters ain’t pawns to be moved around.” You can bet your bottom dollar that the Biden administration is all hot and bothered about this too, with President Joe Biden himself spouting off about how they’re working day and night to get Evan back on American soil.
As for the Russian authorities, they keep stringing poor Evan along, having just extended his detention to June 30. And they won’t even give a straight answer about what evidence they’ve got to back up these cockamamie charges. But you can bet your boots that the good ol’ American leaders won’t be letting up the pressure anytime soon.
