The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on people to pray over Easter for Evan Gershkovich, the journalist from the Wall Street Journal who has now been in jail for a year in Russia on false charges of espionage.
In a call to defend “press freedom around the world”, the Most Rev Justin Welby shared a message on social media in which he said: “After being arrested in Russia one year ago, Evan is still in pre-trial detention, confined to a small cell — with his detention having recently been extended.”
The archbishop noted that Good Friday will “mark a year of missed milestones for Evan — his 32nd birthday, weddings, holidays and the chance to do the work he loves”.
He said: “This Easter, let us pray for the Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich,” adding: “We pray for Evan, his family and his colleagues.”
Sharing a link to coverage in the WSJ of Gershkovich’s ongoing detention, Welby said: “Journalists around the world should be protected, free to hold people and power to account without fear of reprisal. We pray for those hundreds of journalists currently in prison for carrying out this vital work.”
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The WSJ, which is owned by News Corp, the parent company of The Times, said: “Evan was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service in the city of Yekaterinburg while on a reporting assignment in the country. He had full press credentials from Russia’s foreign ministry.
“He was accused of espionage, making him the first American detained on such a charge since the Cold War. Evan, his family, the Journal and the US government vehemently deny these allegations. We continue to demand Evan’s immediate release.”
Gershkovich has been held in Russia’s notorious Lefortovo prison since March 2023, spending 90 per cent of his day in a small cell. The US State Department has declared that Gershkovich has been “wrongfully detained” and President Biden has vowed to bring him home. On January 26, a Russian court extended his pre-trial detention for another two months, with no sign of when a trial will take place.
Hundreds of News UK staff from The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun gathered in the lobby of the company’s headquarters near London Bridge holding signs which read #IStandWithEvan to mark the anniversary of the journalist’s detention.
