One Year of Evan Gershkovich’s Wrongful Detention in Russia

Today marks one year since Russia wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. To date, Russia has provided no evidence of wrongdoing for a simple reason: Evan did nothing wrong. Journalism is not a crime. In the year since Evan's wrongful detention, Russia's already restrictive media landscape has become more oppressive, with a continued assault against independent voices targeting any form of dissent.

Like Paul Whelan, who has now been jailed for more than five years, Evan has remained resilient despite the circumstances of living in Russian detention.. The United States remains committed to bringing Evan and Paul home.

People are not bargaining chips. Russia should end its practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals for political leverage and should immediately release Evan and Paul.