House leaders bind together to condemn Russia’s ‘deeply concerning’ detention of Americans

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) joined together from across the aisle to condemn Russia’s “deeply concerning” detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and the “unjust” imprisonment of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. 

“We strongly condemn Russia’s ongoing and illegal detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich and call for his immediate release,” the two leaders said in a joint statement Thursday. “Since arresting Evan five weeks ago, Russia has failed to provide any credible evidence to justify its manufactured charges.

“Journalism is not a crime and his detention is another deeply concerning attack on freedom of the press across the globe,” the lawmakers added.

McCarthy and Jeffries blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for his country’s “disturbing practice” of “kidnapping” American citizens.

“The persecution of Gershkovich is part of a disturbing practice by Putin’s Russia of kidnapping American citizens and using Soviet-style show trials to unjustly imprison them,” they wrote. “Today, the Kremlin not only holds Gershkovich hostage, it continues to unjustly imprison Paul Whelan.”

“Russia must release Gershkovich and Whelan now,” the statement added.

The pair’s condemnation of the two detainments comes a day after World Press Freedom Day, which President Biden marked with an acknowledgment of Gershkovich’s recent detainment and the 2012 kidnapping of freelance journalist Austin Tice in Syria.

Gershkovich, whom the U.S. has designated as wrongfully detained, has been arrested and jailed in Moscow on allegations of being a spy. Whelan has been detained in Russia since 2018 also for alleged espionage.

The Biden administration had aimed to negotiate Whelan’s release as part of a 2022 prisoner exchange that swapped Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for American basketball star Brittney Griner after she’d been imprisoned for months on drug possession charges.

Biden renewed his promise to bring home Americans last weekend during the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner.

“Journalism is not crime,” Biden said at the dinner. “Evan and Austin should be released immediately, along with every American held hostage or wrongly detained abroad.”