As he approaches his fourth month behind bars in Russia, the Wall Street Journal reporter and 2014 Bowdoin graduate, unfairly detained on spying charges, will hopefully draw strength from the continued outpouring of support for him back home.
Calls for Gershkovich’s release and messages of support from Western media, US politicians, and former classmates and colleagues at his his alma mater, Bowdoin College, remain undimmed.
While questions are being asked about President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power following an apparent near mutiny by Wagner group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gershkovich’s immediate future seems more assured. A Moscow court last week rejected an appeal by his lawyers calling for the release of Gershkovich from pretrial detention, meaning he now faces a further three months, at least, behind bars before he goes on trial.
“We write to express our profound anger and concern over your unjust and wrongful detention in Russia,” wrote Maine’s US Senators Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) last week. They were joined by thirty of their colleagues in signing an open letter of support for Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, also being detained in Russia. “We hope you are doing as well as possible under the current circumstances and understand the enormous burden you may feel as the Russian government uses you as a political tool,” they continued.
“Since your arrest, we have advocated for your release publicly and privately. We will not stop until you are safely home. We believe that a free press is crucial to the foundation and support of human rights everywhere.”
This message has been echoed in the free press throughout the world, mostly recently here in Maine, where the editorial board of The Bangor Daily News published an op-ed this week (“Journalism is not a crime. Russia must release Evan Gershkovich.”)
“We have far more questions than answers about what happened in Russia over the weekend, and what continues to happen, with what may have been an almost-coup and uncertainty about the strength of President Vladimir Putin’s position,” wrote the board. “Amid the uncertainty, at least one thing remains clear: Russia should release the people it has wrongfully detained.”
Read some of the media coverage about Evan Gershkovich since his arrest in March.
