WSJ Marks 100 Days Since Reporter Evan Gershkovich Arrested in Russia

Colleagues of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, along with journalists from around the world, shared photos and words of support online Friday to mark 100 days since he was arrested in Russia.

“My @WSJ colleagues and I had hoped to never see this day,” tweeted Sune Engel Resmussen, a foreign correspondent for the Journal who covers Iran and Afghanistan. “It’s been 100 days since our fellow reporter and friend Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia. His unjust arrest is an affront to anyone who values free press and free societies anywhere #FreeEvan #IStandWithEvan“

“100 days since Evan’s arrest in Russia,” tweeted Matthew Luxmoore, a reporter who also covers Russia, with a phot of the print edition of Friday’s paper, which was wrapped with a special section detailing Gershkovich’s plight. “On this milestone all of us @wsj with Evan’s friends and family are recalling his honest dedication to this craft and calling on everyone to keep pushing on all fronts for his release.”

Gershkovich was arrested March 29 while on a reporting trip in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,100 miles west of Moscow. Russia claims to have caught the U.S. citizen spying “red-handed.”

The U.S. government has declared that he was “wrongfully detained,” and has held talks to try to free him. Reports this week suggested the Kremlin may be open to a potential prisoner swap, similar to the one that brought WNBA star and Olympics gold medalist Brittney Griner home in December after 10 months.

“The @WSJ will leave no man left behind,” posted Journal reporter Elizabeth Berenstein. “Today marks 100 days since Evan Gershkovich was wrongfully detained by Russia and accused of espionage. He did nothing wrong. We continue to demand his immediate release.”

The campaign stretched across other social media platforms as members of the media from around the world joined in expressing support for Gershkovich. Guardian reporter Pjotr Sauer posted a photo of dozens of Dutch and Russian journalists expressing support.

“The hashtag #IStandWithEvan has become synonymous with keeping the plight of our colleague Evan Gershkovich front of mind for the Australian government and governments around the world,” Michael Miller, executive chairman of News Corp. Australia, posted on Instagram, with a photo of a large group of staffers holding signs of support. “Now after 100 days in prison, we need to make it very clear, that we – as a company and as an industry – collectively stand with Evan.”

Staffers from other News Corp. properties, including the New York Post, along with Fox Corp. properties like Fox News, also shared in the campaign to keep Gershkovich’s situation in the public eye. New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan was among the elected officials who tweeted support. “On a bipartisan basis, we continue to stand strong with him and call for his immediate release,” she said.

Journalists from dozens of unaffiliated media companies joined in the campaign as well, from Insider to rival New York Times.

“I had *just* quoted his reporting on the state of Russia’s sanctions-hit economy when he was arrested,” Washington Post reporter Oliver Knox tweeted. “He should be free.”