‘There are no holidays in Russian jail’: Two US journalists spend Thanksgiving imprisoned
The Gershkovich family is accustomed to
having Thanksgiving without their son, journalist Evan Gershkovich, since he
has lived abroad as a reporter for several years. But this year, his absence at
the Thanksgiving table weighs particularly heavily because Gershkovich is
jailed in a Russian prison.
“Having a
Thanksgiving with Evan there would have been a huge treat. But, of course, this
Thanksgiving, it’s just hard,” Danielle Gershkovich, Evan’s sister, told VOA.
There’s “a literal, physical darkness,” she said.
As millions
of people across the United States and the world celebrate Thanksgiving on
Thursday, two American journalists — Gershkovich, as well as Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty’s Alsu Kurmasheva — are spending the holiday jailed in
Russia on charges that are widely viewed as groundless and politically
motivated.
“It is shameful these Americans are spending
Thanksgiving in a Russian prison, rather than celebrating at home with their
families,” Daniel Kanigan, deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow,
told VOA in a statement.
Gershkovich,
a Russia correspondent for The Wall Street Journal,
has been detained since March on espionage charges that he, his employer and
the U.S. government vehemently deny. The U.S. government has declared
Gershkovich wrongfully detained.
Gershkovich’s
pretrial detention is set to expire on November 30. Originally set to expire in
May, his pretrial detention has already been extended twice.
Paul
Beckett, an assistant editor at The Wall Street Journal who
is leading the newspaper’s effort to secure Gershkovich’s release, predicts his
colleague’s pretrial detention will be extended for another three-month period.
Meanwhile,
Kurmasheva, an editor with the Tatar-Bashkir Service of VOA’s sister outlet
RFE/RL, has been detained since mid-October on charges of failing to register
as a “foreign agent.” She and her employer reject the “foreign agent” charges,
which are often used to target the Kremlin’s critics.
Based in
Prague, the dual U.S.-Russian national traveled to Russia in May for a family
emergency. Kurmasheva’s passports were confiscated when she tried to leave the
country in June, and she was waiting for her passports to be returned when she
was detained last month. She will be held in pretrial detention until at least
December 5.
Russia’s
Washington embassy did not reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.
On a typical
Thanksgiving, Kurmasheva joins her family and friends “for a bountiful meal
with gratitude for the love and support we’ve experienced throughout the year,”
her husband, Pavel Butorin, told VOA in a statement.
“This
Thanksgiving, jailed in Russia, Alsu will be receiving prison food through a
small window in her cell,” said Butorin, who is the director of Current Time
TV, a Russian-language TV and digital network led by RFE/RL in partnership with
VOA.
“Alsu is not
a criminal. She deserves to be with family and friends on her favorite American
holiday, not confined in a prison cell,” Butorin said. “We love her and miss
her at our Thanksgiving table.”
Butorin has
previously called on the U.S. government to declare Kurmasheva wrongfully
detained, which would open additional government resources to help secure her
release.
“We are also closely following the detention
of Alsu Kurmasheva and remain deeply concerned about the extension of her
pretrial detention,” said Kanigan, from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. “The
Department of State continuously reviews the circumstances surrounding the
detentions of U.S. nationals overseas, including those in Russia, for
indicators that they are wrongful.”
In his
statement, Kanigan also renewed calls for Russian authorities to immediately
release Gershkovich, as well as Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine serving a
16-year sentence for espionage. Like Gershkovich, Whelan has been declared
wrongfully detained.
For the
Gershkovich family, Thanksgiving is usually a casual affair, according to
Danielle Gershkovich, who said they focus on spending time together as a
family, especially when her brother managed to travel home from work for the
holiday.
“Especially
the more time we were apart from one another in college and Evan being abroad,
it was an excuse to have family dinner together,” she said.
Evan is an
amazing cook, she said, so he and their dad would “do something extravagant,”
Danielle said. “My mom and I got to reap the rewards and clean up after.”
This
Thanksgiving, some of Gershkovich’s journalist friends, whom he met while
working in Russia, are traveling from Europe to the Gershkovich home in New
Jersey to celebrate the holiday together, she said.
Danielle
said her family is able to stay in touch with Evan through letters. Their
correspondence is full of jokes, she said, adding that she has also taken to
giving her brother tarot card readings through their letters in an effort to
keep him entertained.
“He’s
working really hard to keep himself in good spirits. I’m just so amazed by
him,” she said. “I don’t think I could be staying as strong as I am — or my
parents either — if it weren’t for seeing him. If he can do it, so can we.”
As part of The Wall Street
Journal’s campaign to secure Gershkovich’s release, assistant
editor Beckett said the outlet is asking people to save a seat at their
Thanksgiving table “to remember Evan and what he is going through in Lefortovo
Prison.”
“It’s always
tough when you have a colleague in such dire straits. I think it’s going to be
more poignant, more immediate and more moving to know that he’s there on a
holiday,” Beckett told VOA. “There are no holidays in Russian jail.”
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