WASHINGTON (AP) — American basketball star Brittney Griner and his wife are concerned about the arrest in Russia of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, saying “we must do everything in our power to bring him and all the Americans home.”
“Any American who is detained is ours to fight for and any American returned is a victory for all of us,” Griner, who has spent most of last year in Russian detention, said in a statement with Cheredelle Griner released Saturday night. On Instagram.
Russian security authorities detained Gershkovich, 31, on Thursday and charged him with espionage. The newspaper rejected the accusations and demanded his release.
President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release Gershkovich, the first US correspondent to be detained on espionage charges since the Cold War.
Brittney Griner was detained in Russia for 10 months after being arrested at an airport near Moscow on drug possession charges. She was returned to the United States in a prisoner swap in December that implicated Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
In their statement, the Griners expressed appreciation to Biden and his administration’s efforts to rescue people detained abroad, noting the recent release of Jeff Woodke more than six years after his kidnapping in Niger and Paul Rusesabagina, legal resident in the United States, and who was imprisoned in Rwanda for more than two years.
The Griners called on their supporters to support the government in doing everything possible to bring home all improperly detained Americans.
After the Russian Federal Security Service accused Gershkovich of trying to obtain classified information, more than 30 news organizations and press freedom advocates wrote to the Russian ambassador to the United States to convey their concern that Russia is sending the message that reporting within the country is penalized.
