Evan Gershkovich in ‘good health,’ US envoy says

The US ambassador to Russia was granted access to imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Moscow Monday for the first time since the journalist’s arrest on trumped-up espionage charges last month.

Ambassador Lynne Tracy met with the 31-year-old Gershkovich at the notorious Lefortovo Prison, the US Embassy in the Russian capital announced.

The statement said Tracy’s visit marked the “first time we’ve been permitted access to him since his wrongful detention more than two weeks ago.

“He is in good health and remains strong. We reiterate our call for his immediate release. #FreeEvan,” the embassy’s Twitter post read.

The news about Gershkovich’s health came days after President Biden’s administration said it did not “have a sense” of how the journalist was being treated at the infamously harsh prison.

Gershkovich was arrested in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on March 29 and accused of attempting to obtain classified information about a military facility. Russia has not provided evidence to support the claim and Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and US officials have vehemently denied the charges.

Roger Carstens, the State Department’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, said last week that “a lot of options are on the table” when it comes to negotiating the reporter’s release.

“Now that he is [classified as] wrongfully detained, we start to work on negotiating strategies and working with the Russians to find Evan’s release and not only Evan, but Paul Whelan as well,” said Carstens, speaking of the former Marine who has languished in a Russian prison on similar espionage charges for nearly five years.

The special envoy touted the Biden administration’s record of freeing 26 Americans from captivity overseas in 26 months — most notably WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was detained for almost 10 months after being busted with cannabis oil at a Moscow airport in February 2022.