MAINE, USA — Bowdoin graduate, and Wall Street Journal journalist imprisoned in Russia received the highest award for press freedom.
Evan Gershkovich, jailed in Russia after being accused of espionage, was awarded the John Aubuchon award, according to a news release by National Press Club President Eileen O’Reilly.
O’Reilly said the award is much more than recognition and a prize, it's a commitment to support Gershkovich and ensure his freedom as well as the freedom of all foreign journalists working from Russia.
A joint statement from National Press Club President Eileen O’Reilly and National Press Club Journalism Institute President Gil Klein said:
“Journalist Evan Gershkovich has been dedicated and courageous while reporting from Russia during a period of dramatically increased danger for journalists. In an environment filled with risks, he has consistently delivered honest, bold, and enlightening news coverage. Evan’s journalism is the cause of his unjust detention by Russian security forces. Journalism is not a crime and Evan should not be jailed for his profession — he should be honored for it. We call for Evan to be released immediately and without conditions.”
Gershkovich is the first American reporter arrested on espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. He was released without charges 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union's United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI.
The Federal Security Service said that Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information.
Maine Senators Angus King and Susan Collins have called for Gershkovich's immediate release.