<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON: Presi\u00addent Joe Biden said on Friday the US will impose costs for Russia\u2019s \u201cappalling attempts\u201d to use Americans as bargaining chips in a statement to mark the first anniversary of Wall Street Journal repor\u00adter Evan Gersh\u00adkovich\u2019s arrest in Russia.<\/p>\n
Gershkovich, 32, became the first US journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29 last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I have told Evan\u2019s parents, I will never give up hope either. We will continue working every day to secure his release,\u201d Biden said in a statement released by the White House that called the journalist\u2019s detention \u201cwholly unjust and illegal\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia\u2019s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips,\u201d Biden added.<\/p>\n
The Kremlin said on Thursday complete silence was needed when it came to discussions about possible prisoner exchanges involving Gershkovich.<\/p>\n
The reporter, the Journal and the US government all deny he is a spy. The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Gershkovich had been trying to obtain military secrets.<\/p>\n
He has now spent a year at Moscow\u2019s high-security Lefortovo prison, which is closely associated with the FSB, and his detention has been extended to June 30.<\/p>\n
Top leaders in the US Congress from both parties, including Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, also issued a joint statement on Friday calling the journalist\u2019s arrest baseless and unjust.<\/p>\n
Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who is in custody in Moscow on espionage charges, stands behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing on March 26.\u2014Reuters WASHINGTON: Presi\u00addent Joe Biden said on Friday the US will impose costs for Russia\u2019s \u201cappalling attempts\u201d to use Americans as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2024\/03\/301059389f5cebc.jpg?r=110000","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t