Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and his Republican rival, Mitch McConnell, issued a joint statement Friday condemning the arrest and “wrongful detention” of U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich in Russia.
Mr. Gershkovich, who reported on the Russian economy for The Wall Street Journal, was arrested last month and charged with espionage.
“Since his arrest, Russian authorities have failed to present any credible evidence to justify their fabricated charges,” Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, and Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said.
The leaders, who frequently spar on other matters, said Mr. Gershkovich was accredited by the Russian government to report in the country.
“Moreover, against standard diplomatic practice and likely in violation of international law, the U.S. Embassy has been denied consular access to Mr. Gershkovich,” the leaders said. “Russia has a long and disturbing history of unjustly detaining U.S. citizens in a judicial system that provides neither transparency nor justice.”
The White House said releasing the 31-year-old American is a top priority for President Biden and the State Department.
The administration used a prisoner swap to free U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner last year against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, though another U.S. detainee — Paul Whelan — is still in a Russian prison. The U.S. fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using Americans as diplomatic leverage.
Mr. Schumer and Mr. McConnell called on Russia to release Mr. Whelan and Mr. Gershkovich. The senators said the most recent arrest is an attack on the free press.
“Let there be no mistake: Journalism is not a crime,” they said. “We demand the baseless, fabricated charges against Mr. Gershkovich be dropped and he be immediately released and reiterate our condemnation of the Russian government’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress and punish independent journalists and civil society voices.”
