Reporter Evan Gershkovich marks 100 days in Russian prison

July 7, 2023

WASHINGTON – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is “in relatively good spirits” as he passes his 100th day in a Russian jail on bogus accusations of espionage, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief said Friday.

“He is definitely not a spy – that is such an outrage,” Emma Tucker told Fox News. “He’s a reporter. He was there doing his job, accredited by the Russian government to do that job.”

Gershkovich was arrested March 29 while on a reporting trip in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, making him the first American journalist detained by Moscow on spying charges since the Cold War.

“He brought incredible depth to his reporting. He’s an excellent reporter; he speaks fluent Russian. He knows the country,” Tucker added. “We need reporters on the ground and at the moment, we only have one reporter on the ground and he’s behind bars. It’s a complete outrage.”

In those 100 days, there has been some movement on the possibility of bringing the 31-year-old home to the US.

Though Moscow denied Gershkovich consular access during his first three weeks in detention, Russian officials relented to allow US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy the chance to meet with him in April.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is in "good spirits" after 100 days being detained by Russia, according to the paper's editor-in-chief Emma Tucker. — Evan Gershkovich is in “good spirits” after 100 days being detained by Russia, according to Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker.

The pre-trial detention center where Gershkovich is reportedly being held in Moscow.

However, Russia’s Foreign Ministry later blocked at least two requests by the State Department to meet again with Gershkovich, citing a complaint that Russian journalists didn’t get US visas to travel with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations in New York.

Moscow allowed Gershkovich consular access again on Monday, when Tracy met with the journalist days after a court allowed Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, to extend his detention through at least Aug. 30.

“It was great news for us that the ambassador got in because we’d been requesting – the US government had been requesting — consular access and the Russians kept denying it,” Tucker told “Fox & Friends” Friday. “This was only the second time the ambassador was allowed in, and she was able to report back that he’s in good health and he’s in relatively good spirits.”

Tucker called the bogus charges against the reporter an "outrage." — Tucker called the bogus charges against the reporter an “outrage.”

Gershkovich’s parents were also able to see their son during his last court appearance in Moscow, where he was kept in a glass cage during the proceedings, the Journal boss recounted.

“They got to speak to him, and it was a very important thing for them. But the circumstances weren’t great, because when people come to court, the accused, in court, they stand in this glass box. It’s so inhumane,” she said. “The mother refers to it as, ‘the aquarium.’

“She said that she was able to speak to him through this sort of gap in the box, and for a short while she engaged with him and then this guard dragged her back to reality. His dad said, ‘just being physically close was important for us,’” Tucker added.

Gershkovich parents were able to talk to him during his last Moscow court appearance, according to Tucker.

However, Gershkovich’s future is unknown. While Kremlin flack Dmitry Peskov suggested this week that a possible prisoner exchange had been broached by Washington and Moscow, Tucker said Friday she had no additional information.

“I would love to be able to tell you something, but honestly at the moment it’s all speculation,” she told Fox News. “We heard from the Kremlin spokesman some talk of a prisoner exchange. But we don’t know where that was coming from. We have heard nothing official.”

In December, the US secured WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release in a prisoner exchange for notorious international arms dealer Viktor Bout after Griner spent nearly 10 months behind bars following her arrest on drug charges at a Moscow airport.

New York Post showing support for Gershkovich after 100 days of detainment by Russia. — New York Post staffers show support for Gershkovich after 100 days of detainment by Russia.

Washington Post reporter displaying a cape with a "Free Evan" message in support of Gershkovich at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on April 29, 2023. — Washington Post reportera display a cape with a “Free Evan” message in support of Gershkovich at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 29, 2023.

President Biden called for Russia to release Gershkovich at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. — President Biden called for Russia to release Gershkovich at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Meanwhile, American Paul Whelan has been in Russian prison for more than four-and-a-half years.

The former Marine was sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in 2020 after a Russian court found him guilty of espionage — a claim both Whelan and the US government deny. Whelan had traveled to Russia for a wedding when he was “wrongfully detained,” according to the White House.

“Paul Whelan, [we] shouldn’t be forgetting about him either. It’s outrageous that he’s there,” Tucker said. “Listen it’s impossible to know, we just don’t know what happened. This is Russia we’re dealing with, you know? Nothing can be predicted.

“It would be nice to think something was happening. But honestly, all we can do is speculate.”