Calling for the Immediate Release of Evan Gershkovich, A United States Citizen and Journalist, Who Was Wrongfully Detained By the Government of the Russian Federation in March 2023

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 377) calling for the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, a United States citizen and journalist, who was wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian Federation in March 2023, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 377

Whereas United States citizen Evan Gershkovich is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal;

Whereas Evan Gershkovich is an accredited reporter, with a history of working in Russia for the Moscow Times, Agence France-Presse, and the Wall Street Journal;

Whereas Evan Gershkovich is known to his family, friends, and colleagues as someone who is adventurous, curious, and who has an abiding love for Russia and its people;

Whereas Evan Gershkovich, a trailblazing and intrepid journalist, actively reported on stories across Russia, including the vast wildfires across Siberia, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian economy, and the Government of the Russian Federation's unlawful invasion of Ukraine;

Whereas, on March 29, 2023, Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg while reporting on behalf of the Wall Street Journal;

Whereas, on April 7, 2023, the Government of the Russian Federation charged Evan Gershkovich with espionage;

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has failed to publicly provide evidence of Evan Gershkovich's criminal action to credibly render a charge of espionage;

Whereas the last time an American journalist was detained on allegations of espionage in Russia was in 1986 during the era of the Soviet Union;

Whereas, on April 10, 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken designated Evan Gershkovich wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian Federation; and

Whereas, on April 17, 2023, the United States was joined by 46 United Nations Member States in a joint statement expressing deep concern over the detention of Evan Gershkovich by the Government of the Russian Federation: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to immediately release Evan Gershkovich, who has been wrongfully detained since March 2023;

(2) urges all United States executive branch officials, including President Joseph R. Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger D. Carstens, to raise the case of Evan Gershkovich and to press for his immediate release in all interactions with the Government of the Russian Federation;

(3) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to provide full, unfettered, and consistent consular access, in accordance with its international obligations, to Evan Gershkovich while he remains in detention;

(4) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to respect the human rights of Evan Gershkovich;

(5) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to respect the rights of accredited journalists to freely and independently report the news without fear of arbitrary detention or reprisal;

(6) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to desist from detaining, imprisoning, and otherwise seeking to intimidate journalists in order to curtail or censor an independent press;

(7) condemns the Government of Russia Federation's continued use of detentions and prosecutions of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents for political purposes;

(8) calls for the immediate release of Paul Whelan, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia since December 2018;

(9) expresses continued support for all American citizens and lawful permanent residents detained in Russia and abroad, including Marc Fogel, who faces a politicized, excessive sentence for his alleged offense, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has endured multiple attempts on his life and years of persecution by the Putin regime, and others; and

(10) expresses sympathy for and solidarity with the families of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and all other American citizens and lawful permanent residents wrongfully detained abroad for the personal hardship experienced as a result of the arbitrary and baseless arrest and detention of their loved ones.

Evan Gershkovich is an American citizen and a respected Wall Street Journal reporter. He is the son of two Soviet-born Jewish exiles who fled Russia to avoid persecution. He is a loving little brother.

What he is not, Mr. Speaker, is a criminal. Yet, on March 29, he was arrested by the corrupt Putin regime and charged with espionage. No evidence has been presented to back up this accusation because there is no evidence.

Evan is innocent. He was simply doing his job, reporting on the news in Russia, but we know that the war criminal Putin doesn't like that. He doesn't want his own people to know about the atrocities that he is committing in Ukraine. He doesn't want them to know about the corruption within his own government or how he has turned their country into an international pariah.

Vladimir Putin knows that a free press is a pillar of democracy, that a strong fourth estate will hold officials accountable, so he arrested Evan with the intention of not only silencing him but of scaring other journalists to remain silent, too.

I assure Evan's friends, his coworkers, and especially his family, who I have met with, that we will continue our fight every day until we bring him home to you.

As the father of five children, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering Evan's family is feeling right now. I had the opportunity to meet Evan's mother, Ella, recently. Like any mother, she was very worried about her son and this situation, but she was also very determined to do anything she could to bring him home.

She thanked me for the efforts of our committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and others on Capitol Hill who are doing everything we can to help their son.

Just as unfortunate, our next resolution, on Paul Whelan, makes clear that Evan's family is not the only one suffering through this nightmare. We are also awaiting information from the State Department about the arrest of yet another American citizen in Russia over this last weekend.

The Putin regime is increasingly brazen in using political detentions to seek leverage over the Biden administration, and it must be made clear that the use of American citizens as political pawns will not go unpunished. These Americans deserve to be home with their families instead of in Russian prisons.

Today's bipartisan resolution condemns the Putin regime for their illegal imprisonment. It calls on the Biden administration to prioritize bringing home all American citizens who are wrongfully detained overseas.

Today, we send a strong message to Vladimir Putin that America, Republicans and Democrats alike, will not tolerate his corrupt regime holding U.S. citizens hostage under false pretenses.

America, Mr. Speaker, stands with Evan and with every American who is wrongfully detained overseas, and we will not rest until all of them are brought home.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.

Mr. Speaker, let me also thank the ranking member, Mr. Meeks, because what makes this committee so special, in my opinion, is that we know how important it is to speak with one voice, as one country, not as a divided nation. When it comes to Mr. Putin and what he is doing to our Americans over there, we are united with one voice.

Mr. Speaker, Evan's case marks the first time since the Cold War that a journalist has been wrongfully charged with espionage on Russian soil. It is clear that Putin and the corrupt Kremlin will do anything to silence those who seek to expose the truth.

A man of integrity, Evan put the truth ahead of his own safety. He was dedicated to shining a light on the vast corruption and the war crimes of Russia.

Make no mistake, Evan's work posed a threat to Mr. Putin and his cronies, so they did what they always do when threatened: They silence their critics.

It is absolutely unacceptable for Putin to hold Americans hostage as diplomatic pawns. Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, it is happening way too often now.

As I said before, America stands with Evan, and we will not rest until he is home.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source