Youngstown Press Club comments on conviction of US reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – The Youngstown Press Club condemns Friday’s verdict against American journalist Evan Gershkovich.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison on Friday for espionage. The charges were dismissed as trumped up by his employer and the US government.

In a statement from the Youngstown Press Club, the board of directors said:

“The Russian verdict against Evan Gershkovich is a scandal and a threat to global freedom
Press. The Youngstown Press Club firmly believes that no journalist will ever
arrested and imprisoned just for doing their job.
“This ruling has a frightening effect on the free press, as more and more foreign correspondents
flee Russia because, like Evan, they are easy targets for the Russian government, which
eager to gain influence over the US He is a journalist wrongfully imprisoned, detained, it is
accepted for a future hostage exchange. So far, no such agreement has been reached
the Russian government.
“Every day that Evan Gershkovich is in prison is a day too long, and we will continue
“Stand with Evan because journalism is not a crime.”

Youngstown Press Club

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, during a reporting trip to the Ural city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without providing evidence, that he was gathering secret intelligence for the United States. Since then, he has been held in the Stalin-era Lefortovo prison, largely cut off from the world and spending 90 percent of his time in a small cell.

Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be charged with espionage in Russia since the Cold War.
War.

In February, the Youngstown Press Club brought Gershkovich’s arrest and ordeal to light.
Host for Wall Street Journal Deputy Editor Paul Beckett in a community forum at
DeYor Center for the Performing Arts. Beckett described Gershkovich’s imprisonment
“reprehensible” and called on the Russians to release him. To this day, Gershkovich
Held in Lefortovo Prison for 477 days