Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, both from Philadelphia, visited Moscow recently in hopes of seeing their youngest son, Evan, in a Moscow courtroom. The Wall Street Journal reporter is being held in Russia and is being arrested and charged with espionage, the first time Russia has accused a US journalist of spying since the Cold War.
After waiting outside the courtroom for Evan's hearing to be to be, they were ushered inside for the close of pretrial proceedings. As the judge delivered the bad news, the parents of Gershkovich were unable to stop smiling at their son, who was standing in a metal cage before them.
It meant so much to be able to see him and for him to see us, he said in a phone call to the WSJ. If a parent wants to spend five minutes with their child, he will go to the end of the world and be with them for five minutes. In March, he was detained during a reporting trip to Russia. The Biden administration, his family and the WSJ allege that the 31-year-old reporter was involved in espionage.
The last time the journalist's parents visited Russia was in 2018 to visit their son, who had just moved to Moscow to work as a journalist. They had left the Soviet Union in 1979 to settle in the United States.
I have missed just talking to him and being able to see him, his father said on condition of anonymity. I think it s very important that he hears from his friends that we are doing well, and it s important for him to see us, that we look good. Gershkovich's parents said they were encouraged by how well Evan looked, though his skin is pale at least he was smiling and looked relaxed at the hearing.
President Biden has called Gershkovich's detention completely illegal and the Department of State has formally labeled him wrongfully detained. Brittney Griner, a WNBA star, went on a 10 month prison sentence for possessing less than a gram of cannabis oil. An official U.S. determination of wrongful detention opens the door for Washington to devote more resources to pushing for release. This includes immediate consular priority and access to consular officials as well as guarantees that detained Americans are treated in accordance with the law, including human rights law, according to the State Department.
Griner has called for the Biden administration to use every tool possible to free Gershkovich.