Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich wrote his parents the first letter from the pre-trial detention center, it is published by the WSJ. The letter is handwritten in Russian, which Gershkovich speaks at home with his parents, emigrants from the USSR Ella and Mikhail.
“I want to say that I do not lose hope. <…> I am reading. I practice. And I'm trying to write. Maybe, finally, I will write something good, ”the journalist wrote.
In a letter, Gershkovich said that for breakfast in the pre-trial detention center they give wheat or oatmeal, and this reminds him of his childhood. He also wrote that friends had sent him a package of toiletries, clothes and stationery.
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Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg on March 30 and arrested for two months in a case of espionage and collecting information constituting a "state secret." The journalist faces up to 20 years in prison. So far, Russia has not granted US consular access to Gershkovich. The Kremlin claims the journalist was caught red-handed, but no evidence has been provided. The Wall Street Journal denies the accusations, the US State Department found that Gershkovich was wrongfully detained, which opens up the possibility for the US to negotiate on his behalf.
Lawyer Ivan Pavlov told The insider that in this way the authorities show that absolutely any journalist, both Russian and foreign, can fall under the article on espionage. Moscow hopes to exchange the “hostage” journalist for a Russian citizen detained on a similar charge, the lawyer stressed. Thus, Gershkovich will replenish Putin's "exchange fund" needed to return the arrested Russian spies. Read more about the practice of taking foreign hostages for subsequent exchange in The Insider : “Catch and exchange. How the FSB hunts for foreigners.
The Insider supports the demands of colleagues – independent media and journalists – to release Gershkovich and also considers the charges against him unfounded.