It’s been almost two weeks since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained in Russia, and the United States still knows very little about his well-being and the treatment he’s getting while behind bars.
Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said that officials don’t really “have a sense” of what the detained reporter is going through inside his cell at Lefortovo, a notorious prison in Moscow. And that’s primarily because officials have not been able to meet with Gershkovich or gain consular access to him, he told CBS News on Wednesday.
Carstens comments come just days after the United States formally declared Gershkovich a “wrongfully detained” American citizen. The designation means there will be a dedicated State Department office taking lead on securing his release. It also elevates the case to a higher priority within the U.S. government.
“Now that he is 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,” Carstens told CBS.
Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government has said are baseless.
Gershkovich — who covers Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union for the Journal — was detained on March 30 in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, about 800 miles east of Moscow.
The Federal Security Service, an agency that replaced the KGB, alleged the reporter engaged in “espionage in the interests of the American government,” noting he was caught “red-handed” by Russian authorities.
During an initial court appearance, he was ordered to be held behind bars pending an investigation.
The Wall Street Journal has denied all allegations.
