DEAR EDITOR:

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is a precarious place for journalists, but Wall Street Journal Russian correspondent Evan Gershkovich considered himself fairly safe there, up until March 29, 2023.

Just over a year ago, he was suddenly arrested while having dinner at a Russian restaurant in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city. The Federal Security Services threw him in Russia’s Lefortovo Prison, a lock-up dating back to the Stalin era, notorious for psychological torture, designed to isolate its inmates and disorient them.

For the past year, Evan, 32, has found himself in solitary confinement in a tiny jail cell and is only allowed fresh air for an hour a day. He is charged with espionage, accused of being a spy, which the United States government — and The Wall Street Journal — wholeheartedly deny. He is the first American reporter to be so charged since the Cold War.

His arrest represents a frightening effect on a free press as more foreign correspondents flee Russia because, like Evan, they are easy targets for the Russian government, which is eager to gain leverage over the U.S. He is a journalist wrongfully detained, being held it is assumed, for some future hostage swap. As of now, the Russians have not offered any such trades.

If Evan is convicted by the Putin regime, a likelihood that is all but assured if he isn’t released, he would face up to 20 years in a Russian prison.

Back home in New Jersey, his parents and family worry and pray. At the State Department, intensive behind-the-scenes efforts for his release continue daily. At the White House, the Biden administration says Gershkovich’s release is a top priority.

At The Wall Street Journal, Evan’s colleagues push for his release and build awareness of his plight with a campaign known as “I Stand with Evan.”

Last month at the DeYor Performing Arts Center, the Youngstown Press Club joined The Wall Street Journal’s “I Stand with Evan” movement by hosting the Journal’s Paul Beckett, who is leading the paper’s efforts to free Evan.

Beckett detailed the agonizing ordeal his colleague faces and challenged the audience to keep Evan in their prayers and a free press in the forefront.

The Youngstown Press Club steadfastly agrees that no journalist should ever be arrested and detained for simply doing his or her job. The charge against Evan is an outrage and an ominous threat to the global free press.

We feel that every day that Evan Gershkovich remains jailed is a day too long. We will not rest until he’s safely home and we shall continue to “stand with Evan,” because journalism is not a crime.

Lori Factor

Youngstown Press Club

board president