ASJA Calls for Release of Evan Gershkovich, American Journalist Arrested in Russia

For Immediate Release

Contact: ASJA staff, asjaoffice@asja.org

NEW YORK (April 11, 2023): The American Society of Journalists and Authors joins the calls for Russia to immediately release American journalist Evan Gershkovich.

In late March, Russian authorities charged American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a reporter on assignment in Russia for his employer, The Wall Street Journal, with espionage. Gershkovich became the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has now made an official determination that Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained by Russia.

Gershkovich, a New Jersey native, was recognized for his reporting in ASJA’s Crisis Coverage Awards of 2020. He co-authored an important story that shone a light on how medical students in Moscow cared for huge numbers of patients with COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic.

“That’s what journalism does: it makes sense of complicated events and helps readers better understand their world, and that is not a crime in a free society,” ASJA president Emily Paulsen said. “The ASJA continues to call for the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich.”

Freedom of expression is a basic human right, as is the freedom to report on that expression. Journalists working in Russia—both on staff and independents—have bravely fulfilled their professional duties in service of concerned people across the globe.

No journalist should be arrested or charged for fulfilling their duty to the public. ASJA stands in solidarity with Evan Gershkovich and calls for his immediate release.