The United States and international press freedom organizations issued emphatic calls on Friday for Russia to release Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal detained on espionage charges that the newspaper has strongly rejected.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House as he departed for Mississippi to see recent storm damage, President Biden’s message to Moscow was blunt: “Let him go.”
Mr. Biden’s comments came a day after Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest, which markedly escalated tensions between Russia and the United States. The Kremlin’s spokesman has suggested the move was personally approved by President Vladimir V. Putin.
Expelling Russian diplomats or journalists in reprisal was “not the plan right now,” Mr. Biden said. The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said on Thursday that the State Department was in touch with the Russian government about Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest and was working to secure consular access to him.
Vice President Kamala Harris echoed the White House’s comments from Zambia, where she was on a diplomatic visit. “We are deeply concerned,” Ms. Harris said at a joint news conference with President Hakainde Hichilema, adding, “I will state in unequivocal terms that we will not tolerate — and condemn, in fact — repression of journalists.”
Demands for Mr. Gershkovich’s release also came from the leaders of dozens of news media and press freedom organizations, including The New York Times and the Committee to Protect Journalists. The leaders signed a letter addressed to Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly I. Antonov, that was released publicly on Friday.
“Gershkovich’s unwarranted and unjust arrest is a significant escalation in your government’s anti-press actions,” the letter said. It called for Mr. Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American citizen, to be granted immediate access to a lawyer provided by The Wall Street Journal as “an urgent first step.”
A separate statement on Friday from The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Politico and The Washington Post argued that Mr. Gershkovich’s detention was “intended to have a chilling effect on independent journalism and deprive the public of essential news.”
His coverage of Russia “has been fair and accurate at a time when the world needs reliable information,” the news organizations said. The International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists also denounced Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest, calling it “shameful” and a “hostage-taking.”
Russia has provided no evidence for its allegation that Mr. Gershkovich was spying. If he is convicted — Russian espionage trials almost never result in acquittals — he could face up to 20 years in prison.
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