(Geneva) A panel of UN experts considers that the detention in Russia of American journalist Evan Gershkovich is “arbitrary” and calls for his release “without delay”, in an opinion published Tuesday.
“The deprivation of liberty of Evan Gershkovich is arbitrary” and violates several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the experts wrote in the opinion adopted in March, which had not been made public until then.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considers that, “in the circumstances of this case, the appropriate remedy would be the immediate release of Mr. Gershkovich”, considering that the journalist accused of espionage is entitled to reparations, in accordance with international law.
Evan Gershkovich has been detained in Russia for more than 15 months on espionage charges he denies, and the first hearing of his trial was held behind closed doors on June 26 in a court in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals. A new hearing is scheduled for mid-August.
Russian authorities have never substantiated their accusations against the Wall Street Journal correspondent and have kept the contents of the file secret. Washington has denounced it as a “sham” trial.
Arrested in March 2023 while reporting in Yekaterinburg by the Russian security services (FSB), Mr. Gershkovich, 32, is the first Western journalist to be accused of espionage in Russia since the Soviet era.
Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, welcomed the notice, again calling for the journalist’s “immediate release” in a brief statement.
Although the opinions of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention are not binding, they do not commit the UN, but they nevertheless carry significant moral weight.