The parents of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia on espionage charges, said they are "still standing strong" and will continue fighting for the freedom of their son, who marked one year in captivity on Friday.
"This year has been unimaginable for our family in so many ways. It has felt like holding our breath," the parents wrote in a letter to readers of the Wall Street Journal.
"We have been living with a constant ache in our hearts thinking about Evan every moment of every day. We never anticipated this situation happening to our son and brother let alone a full year with no certainty or clear path forward," they wrote.
"But despite this long battle, we are still standing strong. This is thanks to Evan's courage and the help and support of the incredible people around us," Gershkovich's parents, Elia Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, wrote.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested by Russian security officials on March 29, 2023 and accused of spying for the United States while reporting in the Ural Mountains.
He, the newspaper and the White House have strongly denied the accusations. Russian authorities have not laid out evidence or explained thoroughly why Gershkovich is being detained in Moscow's Lefortovo prison.
The Gershkovich family said they continue to fight for the release of their son.
"We don't have words to truly convey how much it means to us. We will continue fighting for Evan's freedom, whatever it takes," they wrote.
Gershkovich, who has appeared in Russian courtrooms nearly a dozen times since last year, was ordered to remain behind bars until the end of June by a Moscow court on Tuesday. Photographs from the hearing showed him smiling, wearing a black checkered shirt inside a glass-enclosed box.
"Throughout all the challenges in this tumultuous time we've watched as Evan has faced this uncertainty, stuck in a small cell, with limited news of the world, without his freedom," his parents wrote in the letter. "We have watched him face this with his head held high because he is innocent. He inspires us to keep going every day, especially on those days where we receive his letters and see his smile from the courtroom camera."
The Wall Street Journal marked the day by running a front page with the headline "His Story Should Be Here," above white space left where his story would be displayed.
Here is an early look at the front page of a special section wrapping today's Wall Street Journal https://t.co/kTxN0a0m6N pic.twitter.com/X8C54alCiH
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 29, 2024
Alma Latour, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal who has played a critical role in trying to secure Gershkovich's release, urged people to do more.
"[T]he outcome is sort of binary: He's either free or he's not. And so if the question is, 'Has enough been done?' Well, we'll know that when he walks free. ... We want everybody to do more until he's out. Until he's out, not enough has been done by anyone, and that goes for all of us," Latour told Politico.
