Evan Gershkovich's family asks Biden to 'prioritise' bringing detained US journalist home from Russia
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's sister
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's sister has urged the Biden administration to remain focused on trying to bring her brother home from a Russian prison where he has been held for six months.
In a statement on Tuesday, Danielle expressed concern about Evan and said that she fears that the ongoing Middle East crisis may distract Washington from hostage diplomacy.
Putting faith in Biden
Talking to Reuters, Danielle said that her family has written Evan Gershkovich a special letter to mark his 32nd birthday, which falls on Thursday (October 26th).
She said that she and her family are putting their faith in President Joe Biden's promise to bring Evan home.
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"When we see the news, any news, we're always thinking of it through the lens of what does this mean for Evan? Our focus is on Evan," said Danielle.
"We just have to continue to ask President Biden to prioritise this and bring Evan home to us," she added.
She also called on people to read the reporter's stories and use the hashtag #IstandwithEvan on social media to aid his return.
"We're doing all that we can on our end to keepfocus on Evan in the news," she stated.
What the Biden administration says
As per the news agency, a US White House Official has assured that there would be no letup in efforts to bring the Wall Street Journal reporter and other detained Americans home.
The official reportedly said that this week there were "active meetings" on the cases of both Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, who is also in Russian detention.
Why was the reporter arrested by Russia?
On March 29, Russia arrested Gershkovich 29 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. He has been accused of espionage. The charge carries up to 20 years in prison.
WSJ and the reporter have both denied the charges. The publication has been calling for his immediate release.
However, Russia's FSB — the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB — claims that the reporter was caught "red-handed" trying to obtain military secrets.
The White House has also labelled the charges "ridiculous" and the US president called the detention "totally illegal."
(With inputs from agencies)
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